Tag: business

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Never mind the Dutch what can the Scots teach the ‘UK’ about how to tackle the youth jobs crisis?

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Over the years, I’ve noticed that no matter the issue, experts and journalists will never dream of looking north for a solution. Yesterday, in the Guardian: A shock government-backed report this week warned of the danger of a “lost generation” of young people in Britain, as the number of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training (Neets) rose to more than 1 million. According to official UK statistics, roughly 13.5% of young people are not in work or college. Among 18- to 24-year-olds the share rises to 15.8% – nearly one in six. In the Netherlands, the equivalent figure has been … Continue reading Never mind the Dutch what can the Scots teach the ‘UK’ about how to tackle the youth jobs crisis?

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Measles crisis – why Scotland needs border control

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In the Guardian today, the above and: In 2024, a measles epidemic tore through this community and left one unvaccinated toddler dead. “As long as vaccination rates remain low, it’s a powder keg,” says Csabai. “Once an epidemic starts, it is already too late to vaccinate. We need to act now.” Romania is facing the worst measles crisis in the EU. The country has had four epidemics of the illness since 2005, each separated by only a few years of fragile calm. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/romania-eu-measles-cases-vaccination-rates-collapse Around 40 000 people per day fly out of Romania to other parts of Europe, 5 000 … Continue reading Measles crisis – why Scotland needs border control

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‘Nowhere else in the world runs their ferry networks like this?’ Well, only the Isle of Wight, the Channel Islands, British Columbia, New Zealand, Washington State USA…..

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OK, I’m not going on about all the Scottish Government subsidies the ‘islanders’ get because, according to Lesley Riddoch, it upsets them to be told about them but I cannot, just cannot, ignore the above claims. Are there reports of government’s excluding the communities most affected from decisions which are crucial for their wellbeing in, for example, the Isle of Wight, the Channel Islands, British Columbia, New Zealand or Washington State USA? It seems there are. I’m shocked. Surely the Stornoway Gazette guy checked first. Yes, there are reports and public criticisms in several of these regions of governments or … Continue reading ‘Nowhere else in the world runs their ferry networks like this?’ Well, only the Isle of Wight, the Channel Islands, British Columbia, New Zealand, Washington State USA…..

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BBC Radio 4 Today on school leaver destinations ignores Scotland’s 96% success rate and England’s 40% higher youth unemployment

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Thanks to Frances McKie, once more for noting and researching this one. BBC Radio 4 Today this morning have been discussing today, the GOV.UK publication of: A major youth employment drive backed by £1 billion will help create 200,000 jobs for young people, alongside the biggest transformation of apprenticeships in a decade. It comes as apprenticeships starts amongst young people are down 40 percent in the last decade and almost one million young people are not earning or learning – a rise of 248,000 between 2021-2024. To be announced today (Monday) in a speech by Work and Pensions Secretary Pat … Continue reading BBC Radio 4 Today on school leaver destinations ignores Scotland’s 96% success rate and England’s 40% higher youth unemployment

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Scottish Government provides better support for business

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introduced in England by the UK Government. BBC Scotland today, with a story to suggest something is worse in Scotland than in England. There’s a debate in the Scottish Parliament tomorrow on business rates which they’ve managed to find someone to stand in a shopping street and try to present as a crisis that only exists in Scotland. The facts? Based on an AI search of 87 sources, Scotland’s system is often seen as more coordinated and interventionist. Summary Table Aspect Scotland England Better for SMEs? Rates Relief (Core Small Biz) Very generous (combined RV up to £35k+, 100% bands) … Continue reading Scottish Government provides better support for business

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A tale of BBC Scotland’s response to Scottish Government press releases – how widespread, how blatant is bias by omission becoming?

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By stewartb Each and every working day at 1600 hours, the Scottish Government sends out an e-mail headed ‘Daily news update’. This collates all press releases issued that day, presumably in part as an aid to journalists. You will often find one or more of the day’s topics referred to here on TuS. But by BBC Scotland or the wider mainstream media in Scotland? Not so much!  Is amplifying positive news from the present Scottish Government too much of a threat to Unionist politicians? Whilst the nature of BBC journalism in Scotland is well known to readers of this blog, … Continue reading A tale of BBC Scotland’s response to Scottish Government press releases – how widespread, how blatant is bias by omission becoming?

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Independent Water Commission for England and Wales – providing a partial and flawed assessment of significance of ownership for performance outcomes?

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By stewartb The ‘Independent Water Commission Final Report’ (aka the Cunliffe report) published on July 21 has a lengthy section examining any possible relationship between water company ownership and performance outcomes. British Labour Party politicians are at work with the mainstream media to allege poor performance of Scottish Water in order to convince the electorate that public ownership is ineffective and/or unnecessary. In this context, it’s worthwhile examining what the Commission’s report actually stated on this subject and worth assembling other relevant evidence to counter Labour’s talking down Scotland – again! From the Water Commission’s report From Para 693: ‘The … Continue reading Independent Water Commission for England and Wales – providing a partial and flawed assessment of significance of ownership for performance outcomes?

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More news you won’t hear – Over 98,000 children are now benefiting from new learning environments and over 10,000 people are benefiting from new affordable homes

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By cuckooshoe The SNP proposed a Scottish Futures Trust in their 2007 election manifesto. The Scottish Government owns the SFT which they established in 2008. It is an independent, arms-length company that works with the public and private sectors to maximize the benefits of infrastructure projects. “To further demonstrate the impact of our work, we produced this website with our ten outcomes detailed below. Within each of the outcomes, we have listed a number of facts and figures that reflect the quantitative impact our work is having. And across the ten outcomes, we have added 23 more case studies (on top … Continue reading More news you won’t hear – Over 98,000 children are now benefiting from new learning environments and over 10,000 people are benefiting from new affordable homes

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Reddit now bigger than x so important for Independence debate

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According to the Guardian today: Reddit, the American online discussion platform, has overtaken X to become the fifth most popular social media platform in the UK, according to the communications watchdog. Ofcom said Reddit, where users post on discussion threads within topic-based communities, was visited by 22.9 million UK adults in May this year, compared with 22.1 million on X. The figures make Reddit the fastest-growing large social media platform in the UK and represent a growth of 47% on the same period in 2023 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/nov/28/reddit-overtakes-x-in-popularity-of-social-media-platforms-in-uk Readers may remember that I was banned from rScotland, in 2023, for repeatedly posting … Continue reading Reddit now bigger than x so important for Independence debate

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Arran – history of remarkable transformation enabled by a ferry service delivered by a publicly-owned company subsidised by tax payers across Scotland.

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stewartb How hard is it for companies operating on Arran – how hard relative to businesses elsewhere? The ‘Auchrannie Resort’ is one of the largest, plushest hotel, spa and leisure offerings to tourists visiting Arran. It must be one of the island’s largest companies and wholly dependent on its customers wanting to – and being able to – get to the island. On the home page of its web site its states: ‘Did you know that 750,000 journeys are made to and from Arran each year?’ The company web site describes its history in the following terms: ‘Auchrannie was acquired by … Continue reading Arran – history of remarkable transformation enabled by a ferry service delivered by a publicly-owned company subsidised by tax payers across Scotland.