Tag: scotland

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6% Missing council tax payments? Is that a lot? Yeh, but don’t mention it costs less here, OK?

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Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to my favourite, nearly 100 year-old, paper-based, to your door, Scots Independent newspaper, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ tax payment last year – that’s according to Citizen’s Advice. A survey by the charity suggests around 6% of people missed a payment at least once in 2023. Reporting Scotland’s opening story, first thing to today, to get you off to a bad start in Scotland. Reporting Scotland editor: 270 000? Nice big number but don’t mention the percentage. Wait, they did. Who put that in? It’s too wee! FFS! Haven’t I told … Continue reading 6% Missing council tax payments? Is that a lot? Yeh, but don’t mention it costs less here, OK?

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How little Labour did for the social housing market when in power in Scotland compared to the SNP

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By NMRN “This is not the first time Shelter has mounted a campaign of deliberately context-free misinformation against the Scottish Government” It is also amazing how in a GE year that the volume is being ramped up….against the Scottish government by certain organisations ……a surreptitious disguise that could be then assumed as another ‘Friends of Labour’ ….and thus (another)’Enemy of the SNP’ …..another critic (to join the many pro UK ranks)……. Given the media’s current #SNPBAD and then also their #GiveLabourAnotherChance badly cloaked and very much partisan political marketing within Scotland….to shore up more support for labour and less support … Continue reading How little Labour did for the social housing market when in power in Scotland compared to the SNP

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England well ahead of Scotland on post Grenfell cladding remediation…..because only they actually need to be

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ In the latest of the endlessly ill-informed coverage of flammable cladding on tower blocks being replaced, Scotland’s Insider has: Only two of the 105 buildings included in the Scottish Government’s cladding remediation programme have had work carried out. With a Holyrood committee scrutinising new legislation aimed at dealing with potentially flammable cladding on blocks of flats, MSPs said that “progress has been slow”. A report published by the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee said: “Of the 105 buildings within the Scottish Government’s cladding remediation programme, only … Continue reading England well ahead of Scotland on post Grenfell cladding remediation…..because only they actually need to be

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‘In a piece of self-aggrandisement BBC Scotland journalist Samantha Poling is implying that she solved the murder’

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Image – Scottish Sun Alasdair Macdonald The media, with justification, are focussing on the failure to arrest the killer of Emma Caldwell in 2007. This was, indeed, a shocking failure of policing. This occurred during the period when police forces in Scotland were run locally and the force responsible here was Strathclyde Police. Police Scotland had not yet been created. It was Police Scotland which solved this crime. However, the media are not making much of that. As far as they are concerned the ‘police’ are responsible ergo Police Scotland is responsible and this enables them to blame the Scottish … Continue reading ‘In a piece of self-aggrandisement BBC Scotland journalist Samantha Poling is implying that she solved the murder’

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Police Scotland maintains world leading detection rate as every homicide committed in Scotland since 2013 has been solved

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ Many thanks to Andrew Wilson for alerting me to this: From Police Scotland today: Every homicide committed in Scotland since 2013 has been detected by Police Scotland, new figures confirmed today. In 2022-23, all 52 homicides committed in Scotland were detected. Latest statistics from Scottish Government, published today, show the number of homicides committed in Scotland continues to reduce. Police Scotland’s 100 per cent homicide detection rate means that every one of the 605 murders committed since the inception of the single national service in 2013, has … Continue reading Police Scotland maintains world leading detection rate as every homicide committed in Scotland since 2013 has been solved

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SNP competence check – ‘England may wish to follow Scotland’s lead on preventive healthcare for under 5s’

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ From an article in the British Medical Journal, a remarkable report of the impact of the Scottish Government’s unique investment in health visitors, across a range of outcomes including infant survival, vaccination rates, breastfeeding, obesity, GP workload, A&E attendance levels and dental treatment. The full article is behind a paywall so unless you have access to an institutional (university, health board etc) account you may not be able to read the whole thing. It’s stunning. Here is an extract: Urgent action is needed to tackle worsening health … Continue reading SNP competence check – ‘England may wish to follow Scotland’s lead on preventive healthcare for under 5s’

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VERIFIED by Office for National Statistics: NHS Scotland performs best in Britain on A&E waits – and has done so for over a decade!

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ By stewartb So it’s true – the ONS has confirmed that NHS Scotland has the best performing A&E services in Britain in terms of waiting times. What’s more, it has been a top performer for over a decade. This may come as a shock to many voters in Scotland given it runs counter to BBC Scotland’s framing and to the ‘outraged’ media performances by a Labour Party dame and a Tory in scrubs with a ‘cool’ hairdo. Source: ONS (28 February 2024) Accident and Emergency wait times … Continue reading VERIFIED by Office for National Statistics: NHS Scotland performs best in Britain on A&E waits – and has done so for over a decade!

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Conspiracy to push drugs across ‘county lines’ into Dumfries and Scotland

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ From Greater Manchester Police news two days ago but not being covered by the Dumfries newspapers or wider Scottish media: Officers in GMP’s Challenger South team, along with forcewide resources executed 12 warrants across Manchester, West Yorkshire and in Scotland in relation to an investigation into a conspiracy to supply class B drugs. Seven people aged between 24 and 58 were arrested this morning on suspicion of conspiracy to supply the class B drug of cannabis. They are all suspected to be involved in a conspiracy to … Continue reading Conspiracy to push drugs across ‘county lines’ into Dumfries and Scotland

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South Uist islanders refuse ‘offer’ of HMS Prince of Wales as replacement ferry

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ From the Daily Mail today: The future of Britain’s second aircraft carrier is under threat due to funding issues, naval sources have claimed. Senior figures have spoken out after it emerged next week’s Budget will not include any significant rise in defence spending. They fear HMS Prince of Wales, which cost £3.5billion to build, could be mothballed or sold for a knockdown price to a friendly nation, over the fleet’s flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth. In a shock move Lord Marmaduke Pocklington-Henry, community councillor for South Uist, has demanded … Continue reading South Uist islanders refuse ‘offer’ of HMS Prince of Wales as replacement ferry

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Audit Scotland satisfied with SNP ferry contract awards

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ Scotland’s narrowest ferry correspondent cannot hide his huff as Audit Scotland decide not to carry out further inquiries into the new ferry procurement procedures. In 2022, they had concerns but, according to the Herald today (unsourced), they appear to have accepted that due process was followed. Here’s the end after all the hissyfitting: Audit Scotland previously questioned why a builder’s refund guarantee – which would protect the buyer – was not part of the contract with Ferguson Marine despite usually being a mandatory consideration. But Audit Scotland … Continue reading Audit Scotland satisfied with SNP ferry contract awards