Tag: scotland

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Families in England even more worried over lack of speech therapists and lagging behind Scotland, as the waiting list there is 17% longer than in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland today, the above case study and: Families [well two] worried over lack of specialist speech therapists – A new report seen by BBC Scotland News shows that demand for speech and language therapists (SLT) is increasing in Scotland but that the numbers of therapists is falling behind the rest of the UK. The report, by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT), says Scotland needs to increase its full-time equivalent SLT therapists by 370, from a current total of 530. It also says that Scotland is lagging behind England in terms … Continue reading Families in England even more worried over lack of speech therapists and lagging behind Scotland, as the waiting list there is 17% longer than in Scotland

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One more time – flammable cladding is not that dangerous if……

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Professor John Robertson OBA I’ve been constructing this ‘tower of knowledge‘ for years now and virtually nobody, including the Scottish Government, seems be even aware of it. Based on the expert advice of a reader of TuS and a retired architect, as I understand it, flammable cladding is not dangerous enough, on its own, to cause a towering inferno and the deaths of hundreds, IF you have cavity fire barriers preventing the fire from spread from floor to floor, due to a chimney effect as happened in Grenfell. This fact is proven by four recent tower block fires in Scotland … Continue reading One more time – flammable cladding is not that dangerous if……

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Another Orkney Saga….   62.4% identify as Scottish ONLY so expense isn’t important in deciding to stay in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland today, the above and: Orkney Islands Council has accepted it must remain part of the UK – after spending two years exploring opportunities for greater autonomy. Officials looked into various models for “alternative governance”. These included changing their status in the UK or even potentially becoming a self-governing territory of Norway. A report to councillors concluded the proposals were too difficult and too expensive and members agreed to investigate a single authority model to reform how public services are delivered instead. Two years ago TuS reported on this and the following was written … Continue reading Another Orkney Saga….   62.4% identify as Scottish ONLY so expense isn’t important in deciding to stay in Scotland

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The last word on the damaging misrepresentation of Scotland’s ferries – cheaper, safer, more inclusive and more popular than any other public service

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This first appeared in the June edition of Scots Independent Professor John Robertson OBA I’ve written on ferry services, globally, more times than I can remember in vain attempt to get the Herald and other media to stop publishing downright lies about CalMac which inevitably must be seeping into the public consciousness and, I feel sure, damaging the confidence of travellers from all over the UK and beyond with negative economic consequences for the islands. I’ve tried to put CalMac’s relatively minor problems into a global context, revealing the very real crises in affluent societies from British Columbia, through Washington … Continue reading The last word on the damaging misrepresentation of Scotland’s ferries – cheaper, safer, more inclusive and more popular than any other public service

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Every public service in Scotland is performing better than those in other parts of the UK but Reporting Scotland platform the opposition to claim the SNP cannot be trusted

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Herald today and on BBC Scotland: John Swinney will today pledge a “national project of renewal” to overhaul Scotland’s public services, warning that the status quo is no longer good enough. In what the Scottish Government has described as a “major speech”, the First Minister will tell leaders from across the NHS, education, local government, justice and the third sector that long-term reform is needed to meet the country’s looming demographic and economic challenges. Despite having only seconds to tell the story, Reporting Scotland, this morning, managed to fit in the opposition parties claiming that the SNP … Continue reading Every public service in Scotland is performing better than those in other parts of the UK but Reporting Scotland platform the opposition to claim the SNP cannot be trusted

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Beware ‘gushing’ British Labour Party politicians in Scotland in the wake of their government’s Spending Review which quietly cuts Great British Energy funding to zero

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By stewartb The BBC News website on June 11 covered the Spending Review announcements in separate articles, in its Wales and Scotland sections. The BBC Wales article had this cautionary headline: ‘Spending review could mean cuts in Wales – experts’. Critical views ares shared by BBC Wales on the significance of the SR and not just from politicians opposed to the British Labour Party government but from ‘experts’ too: Here we learn: ’On Wednesday, the chancellor announced a real-terms increase of 3% to day-to-day funding for the NHS in England. That will result in extra funding for Welsh ministers to … Continue reading Beware ‘gushing’ British Labour Party politicians in Scotland in the wake of their government’s Spending Review which quietly cuts Great British Energy funding to zero

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As Police Scotland send officers to help in Northern Ireland again, how the Scottish Government has made them the only UK force able to help with such ‘uncommon’ demands

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland yesterday: Police Scotland has agreed to send officers to Northern Ireland after two nights of disorder in Ballymena. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) asked for extra support under mutual aid arrangements following violent scenes in the County Antrim town. The deployment will involve an undisclosed number of public order officers who are trained to police civil unrest. Police Scotland previously sent 120 officers to Belfast last summer after a number of PSNI officers were injured during several nights of rioting and disorder in the wake of attacks on children in Southport, Merseyside. Mutual … Continue reading As Police Scotland send officers to help in Northern Ireland again, how the Scottish Government has made them the only UK force able to help with such ‘uncommon’ demands

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Covid Inquiry reports praising Scottish Government’s approach which you’re not going to hear anywhere else

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By Brenda Robb I’ve done what BBC reporters routinely do ie scan a document and pick out selective bits to back up an argument. I make no apologies for this because rarely does Scotland get any positive mentions, while negative findings are highlighted, amplified in headlines and endlessly discussed. If I ever get the time & energy I’m going to work my way through all the Covid reports, maybe do a list of positive/negative statements and make my own conclusions before the BBC or Rupert Murdoch try to tell me what to think. Below are statements from the most recent Covid … Continue reading Covid Inquiry reports praising Scottish Government’s approach which you’re not going to hear anywhere else

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The impact of spending decisions by the British Labour Party government in Westminster on the so called Block Grants to the governments in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh

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By stewartb Cut to funding for nurse training in England – what impact on Westminster’s spend for England on health, or will the ‘saving’ be from the Department of Education’s budget? Is this leading to a reduction in overall departmental spend or more likely, a more limited increase in departmental spend overall than England’s services (and devolved equivalents in NI, Scotland and Wales) need? What impact of this – and the cumulative impact of multiple other – spending decision by the British Labour Party government in Westminster on the so called Block Grants to the governments in Belfast, Cardiff and … Continue reading The impact of spending decisions by the British Labour Party government in Westminster on the so called Block Grants to the governments in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh

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Sarwar’s duplicity on Reform UK

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By JB “Institutional lies are at the level of organisations or public discourse. Many politicians use the common interpretation that telling a falsehood is lying whereas concealing or distorting the truth is not, leading to tortuous statements that technically avoid falsehoods but are certainly deceptive. Political lies in office and during campaigning are necessarily institutional: they are in the public domain. In contrast, private lies by politicians are individual lies, but they can become institutional lies when they are brought into the public domain.” Commentators and voters are less likely to believe a politician with a reputation for lying, especially … Continue reading Sarwar’s duplicity on Reform UK