Tag: family

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Sunak’s childcare scheme struggles, Starmer refuses to pledge support and Scottish scheme reporting no problems

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By Professor John Robertson From the Guardian today, the above, and: The deployment of the government’s childcare scheme to tens of thousands more families is facing “significant uncertainties” and may struggle to meet its own targets, according to a report by Whitehall’s spending watchdog. The National Audit Office revealed the Department for Education (DfE) had assessed the likelihood of being able to deliver the funded childcare places it promised for September 2024 and 2025 as “amber/red problematic”. Even if the government managed to successfully navigate the multiple difficulties ahead, it was not clear whether the policy would achieve its primary aim of … Continue reading Sunak’s childcare scheme struggles, Starmer refuses to pledge support and Scottish scheme reporting no problems

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Maybe Scotland’s ferry-user ‘representatives’ would like CalMac to learn from this operator in the richest country in the world as it warns ‘Normal service is not possible. Don’t expect improvements for 5 years!’

johnrobertson834

Two days ago, we heard from the Herald: The Scottish Government’s bid to provide a direct public contract to CalMac to run the ageing ferry fleet without going through a competitive tendering process is opposed by its community board. Today, to warn the board to be careful what it wishes for, we can read of how a large, failing but profit-making ferry operator, in the USA, is doing for its users: After several years of trying to predict when normal ferry service might return, Washington State Ferries is now acknowledging what most regular riders likely already suspected: Until new boats … Continue reading Maybe Scotland’s ferry-user ‘representatives’ would like CalMac to learn from this operator in the richest country in the world as it warns ‘Normal service is not possible. Don’t expect improvements for 5 years!’