Tag: six-nations

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The Guardian casually distorts the lower level of homicide against women in Scotland

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In the above Guardian piece today, 3 (33%) of the 9 murders described took place in Scotland. The authors chose these 9 examples from 174 murders of women in England & Wales last year. Read the above, on its own, and Scotland looks a more dangerous place for women, by some way. That’s not just untrue, it’s the reverse. The facts: From National Statistics for Scotland, today: In 2022-2023, there were 13 female homicide victims in Scotland. In England & Wales, in 2021-2022 (latest figures) there were 198 female homicide victims. England & Wales have 11 times the population and so, … Continue reading The Guardian casually distorts the lower level of homicide against women in Scotland

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A&E patient spends 5 days in a chair in a ‘warzone’ hospital but the Welsh Labour Health Secretary is not responsible in any way

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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/ From BBC Wales today: Man spends five days in chairs at ‘warzone’ hospital. A patient who said he was left waiting in a hospital chair for five days has described his “nightmare” experience. Nicky Morgan, 42, went to Morriston Hospital, Swansea, on Saturday night with severe headaches and was told he had a potentially serious condition.But he said he was told there were no beds and has slept on a chair in a … Continue reading A&E patient spends 5 days in a chair in a ‘warzone’ hospital but the Welsh Labour Health Secretary is not responsible in any way

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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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Teacher staffing in Labour-run Wales a pupil-harming 40% lower than in Scotland as it remains the same here

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ As the Guardian reports on 14 years of cuts to school budgets, crumbling buildings and a crisis in the funding for staff in England, the Scotsman has a go at including Scotland in this ‘crisis’ with: SNP teacher numbers vow in tatters The claim comes, no surprise, not from an independent research group but from the EIS union, whose leaders have regularly misrepresented their members interests to help Scottish Labour. The EIS leadership and Labour are close. Several, with me, were at Stirling University, thanks to one … Continue reading Teacher staffing in Labour-run Wales a pupil-harming 40% lower than in Scotland as it remains the same here

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Only in Scotland, is the Auditor General a political stooge and media favourite

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ demand for services – that’s according to the public spending watchdog Audit Scotland. Its annual report on the NHS says increased pressure is directly impacting on patient safety – and the Scottish Government has no overall vision for its future. Here’s the source of the above, on Reporting Scotland this morning: He’s a regular on BBC Scotland to tell you that the Scottish Government isn’t doing or can’t do something and that you’re at risk. He won’t, despite his title, do full research into the context such … Continue reading Only in Scotland, is the Auditor General a political stooge and media favourite

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New evidence from Fiona Bruce that waiting lists in England are far far longer than in Scotland

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From Fiona Bruce of BBC News at 6: The BBC has discovered that many NHS patients in England are stuck on waiting lists potentially running into millions. People who are referred to a specialist for treatment for cancer or heart failure for example are no longer counted on the main waiting lists. The Director of Data Analytics at the The Health Foundation then says: It’s very difficult to get an idea of the number…it’s not quite clear which hospital record it and which don’t…but I would guess it’s in the millions! Imagine that was in Scotland? Imagine Jackie Baillie on … Continue reading New evidence from Fiona Bruce that waiting lists in England are far far longer than in Scotland

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BBC Scotland ignore Oxford University expert saying Scotland’s contribution to hosting displaced people is 50% greater than England

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From BBC Scotland today: Home Secretary James Cleverly has urged the Scottish government to use a cruise ship and other large sites to accommodate more asylum seekers. Mr Cleverly said that for dispersal and initial accommodation alone, Scotland houses eight asylum seekers for every 10,000 people. This compares to nine in Wales and 16 in England. This morning, at least 12 hours earlier, on BBC Radio Good Mourning Scotland, we hear from Peter William Walsh of the Migration Observatory at Oxford University: The Home Secretary criticises the Scottish Government for not taking enough asylum seekers. So asylum seekers are those … Continue reading BBC Scotland ignore Oxford University expert saying Scotland’s contribution to hosting displaced people is 50% greater than England

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NHS new building on pause – a trade union convenor is not an ‘independent expert’

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Headlining early today for the Labour Party on Reporting Scotland, we see a Fife Labour councillor condemn one wee GP surgery building, specially chosen for their campaign. On the BBC Scotland website and, no doubt, on longer broadcasts, we read: Independent experts warned it was unlikely NHS Scotland would “survive” without extra funding this year. Basic journalism standards require that both the independent experts and the word ‘survive’ will re-appear in the full text below. Neither do. The only comments are from Donald Campbell, chairman of the Kincardine community council and from Dr Iain Kennedy, chair of BMA Scotland. The word … Continue reading NHS new building on pause – a trade union convenor is not an ‘independent expert’

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Juryless rape trials already take place in England and Wales – somebody tell the Scottish media and defence lawyers?

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In 2020 rape prosecutions were more common in Scotland than in England, by 13% to 1.6% despite reports of rape being more than twice as high in England. I’m not, this time, going to make much of that because the 13% level of prosecutions seems lower than it should be and the Scottish Government’s plans to pilot juryless trials is a very sensible thing to try out. Since May 2023, the UK media in Scotland have pounced on the objections of some defence lawyers (What else would a defence lawyer do?) with a view to irresponsibly blocking another progressive SNP … Continue reading Juryless rape trials already take place in England and Wales – somebody tell the Scottish media and defence lawyers?

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‘Beware of lonely numbers’ – Scotland’s A&E is still far better – by 15%!

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In December 2023, NHS Scotland’s full emergency departments (Type ED) saw 62.9% of those attending, within 4 hours. In England, the equivalent figure was only 54.7% 62.9% is 14.8% better than 54.7%. That matters. It means around 100 000 more, every month in England waiting over 4 hours, than if they had lived in a country with A&E performing like Scotland. It means around 10 000 fewer in Scotland, every month, waiting over 4 hours, than if they had lived in a country with A&E performing like England. The great statistics in public health communicator Hans Rosling says: When I … Continue reading ‘Beware of lonely numbers’ – Scotland’s A&E is still far better – by 15%!