Tag: news

1 Comment

The treatment of refugee children – How Scotland is trying to become a better place even before we have full control

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, the above and: Tens of thousands of children in migrant and refugee families in the UK are being denied access to government-funded childcare because of benefit restrictions linked to their parents’ immigration status, a report says. Having “no recourse to public funds” (NRPF) means parents are not entitled to 30 hours of free childcare and are having to stay home to look after their young children instead of working. This is pushing families into poverty and denying their children the benefits of the early years education available to their peers, the report … Continue reading The treatment of refugee children – How Scotland is trying to become a better place even before we have full control

1 Comment

As vaccination levels fall in neighbouring UK and cases and adult measles deaths increase how Scotland’s crucial high vaccination rate gets no coverage

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA From the Guardian today: An adult who was infected with measles has died in New Mexico, state health officials announced Thursday, though the virus has not been confirmed as the cause of death. The person was from Lea county, just across the state line from the west Texas region where 159 measles cases have been identified and a school-age child died last week – the first US measles death in a decade. New Mexico health officials have not linked the outbreak there to the Texas cases. On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention … Continue reading As vaccination levels fall in neighbouring UK and cases and adult measles deaths increase how Scotland’s crucial high vaccination rate gets no coverage

5 Comments

STV’s shameless failure to report accurately or fairly on children’s mental health waiting times and reliance on one private consultant for opinion

johnrobertson834

but today brought some positive news. The Children’s Mental Health waiting time target has been met for the first time in its 10 year history. By Professor John Robertson OBA STV last night opened with the above. After some time with the minister we see a long interview, right to the end, with Dr Becky Howie, a private sector consultant, with her own business – maldodlife.co.uk – to hear: and to doubt the validity of the stats, all on her own commercial self. Why has STV not asked someone at the frontline in NHS Scotland? Also, why has STV not … Continue reading STV’s shameless failure to report accurately or fairly on children’s mental health waiting times and reliance on one private consultant for opinion

Leave a comment

Exodus of the landlords? How the Herald today forgets what happened the last time

johnrobertson834

The Herald, above today. Back in September 2022, from TuS reader Anonymous: BBC Scotland was broadcasting on behalf of the landlords to undermine the SNP rent freeze plan. At the time, the Guardian had a better perspective: Selling up and raising rents: how landlords are cashing in and exacerbating the cost of living crisis https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/31/britain-tenants-renters-landlords-profit So how big is the sell-up? Timothy Douglas, Propertymark’s Head of Policy and Campaigns, has  given evidence to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee of the Scottish Parliament warning of the impact of proposed legislation to limit rent increases and evictions on the supply … Continue reading Exodus of the landlords? How the Herald today forgets what happened the last time

5 Comments

Major balanced poll – Information-starved public critical of Scottish Government’s record but are sure Labour would not do a better job

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA The first thing I check for in any full poll is the extent to which the initial sample has been adjusted to reflect the make-up of the electorate in the 2021 Holyrood Election (not required) and they 2014 Referendum (good, they have not). In the light of the latter non-adjustment which many feel has distorted previous poll results against the SNP, we can, for the first time, reasonably trust these results. Their own headline – Public critical of Scottish Government’s record but aren’t convinced that Labour would do a better job – is surprising given … Continue reading Major balanced poll – Information-starved public critical of Scottish Government’s record but are sure Labour would not do a better job

3 Comments

BBC Kent do not ask Labour Government, Health Secretary or local MP why A&E patients sit in their faeces for up to 50 hours – Imagine that in Scotland?

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Kent today: Frail patients ‘told to soil themselves’ at A&E – Frail patients at a Kent hospital emergency department were “told to soil themselves” because there was no one to take them to the toilet, staff have said.Patients at the Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham faced waits of more than 50 hours with no access to wash facilities, with some left “sitting in their own faeces“, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) was told. An inspection by the CQC in February 2024 rated the emergency department as “requires improvement” and issued a warning notice for … Continue reading BBC Kent do not ask Labour Government, Health Secretary or local MP why A&E patients sit in their faeces for up to 50 hours – Imagine that in Scotland?

4 Comments

Drug-related hospital admissions plummet for third year in a row after Scottish Government’s ‘world-first’ opioid overdose reversal Naloxone initiative but are not being reported by media

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland‘s Drug-related hospital statistics Scotland 2022 to 2023 on 16 April 2024 (Latest release): There were 9,663 drug-related hospital stays. The European Age-sex Standardised Rate (EASR) of drug-related hospital stays was 182 stays per 100,000 population. This rate decreased for a third consecutive year, from a peak of 283 per 100,000 population in 2019/20. The highest substance-specific stay rate (81 per 100,000 population) was for opioids (drugs similar … Continue reading Drug-related hospital admissions plummet for third year in a row after Scottish Government’s ‘world-first’ opioid overdose reversal Naloxone initiative but are not being reported by media

Leave a comment

Five times more, adjusted per head of population, at risk of being exploited by violent extremist narratives and drawn into terrorism in England & Wales than in Scotland

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, the above and: The case is one of a growing number of school-shooting plots detected in the UK, where young men and boys are being inspired by online material glorifying US massacres, including the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. In the year to March 2024, 162 referrals were made to Prevent (the government-led counter-terrorism scheme) related to interest in school massacres, up 2% on the year before. Only 19 resulted in people being adopted for intervention and mentoring under the programme.1 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/02/i-hate-my-school-why-are-more-british-teenagers-plotting-shooting-attacks The total number of referrals to Prevent in England … Continue reading Five times more, adjusted per head of population, at risk of being exploited by violent extremist narratives and drawn into terrorism in England & Wales than in Scotland

3 Comments

How Scotland’s disability benefits system has been kinder, remains affordable but is not apparently worthy of proper media coverage

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA Today, BBC Reporting Scotland Down has the above story on disability payments in Scotland. As always there’s no context so that the narrative can remain pure – critical of the Scottish Government. What is the most important recent historical fact in disability payments in the UK? This: A leading disability rights charity has described new suicide statistics as the “tragic face of systemic inequality”. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggested disabled people had the highest rate of dying by suicide compared to other groups. It found 48 disabled men per 100,000 people and 19 … Continue reading How Scotland’s disability benefits system has been kinder, remains affordable but is not apparently worthy of proper media coverage

2 Comments

As Labour government cuts millions from funding for victims’ services, SNP increase it by 12% in one year

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today: The [UK] government has cut millions of pounds in funding for victims’ services, prompting warnings that “criminals will go unpunished” unless it urgently changes its position. The Victims’ Commissioner has written a letter to chancellor Rachel Reeves, shared exclusively with the Observer, saying a combination of funding reductions and the upcoming employers’ national insurance increase was creating an “existential crisis” for charities. The commissioner and charities in the sector are calling for an urgent funding increase in the next spending review, which concludes this spring. “These crucial services ensure victims have the … Continue reading As Labour government cuts millions from funding for victims’ services, SNP increase it by 12% in one year