Tag: travel

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One third of English patients using private dentists because they have only half the level of access to NHS dentists in Scotland

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON In the Guardian today: Almost a third of people in England now use private dentistry, with a sharp rise in the number of poorer households forced to pay for fillings and extractions. The scarcity of NHS care means the proportion of people turning to private dental services jumped from 22% in 2023 to 32% late last year, the health service’s patient watchdog found. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/09/nhs-dental-crisis-private-dentist-patient-incease-england We’re hearing nothing even vaguely similar from the media in Scotland and you can be sure … Continue reading One third of English patients using private dentists because they have only half the level of access to NHS dentists in Scotland

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Golf-based therapy for veterans is latest addition to Scotland’s greater care for them through directness and universal benefits

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From Help for veterans and families published yesterday: A scheme to help wounded or sick veterans recover their confidence through golf is among 30 projects to receive backing from the Scottish Veterans Fund. Veterans Minister Graeme Dey announced successful applicants to the £600,000 Scottish Veterans Fund on a visit to the On Course Foundation at Drumoig Golf Hotel in Fife. The fund, which the Scottish Government had committed to maintaining for the rest of the parliament was in … Continue reading Golf-based therapy for veterans is latest addition to Scotland’s greater care for them through directness and universal benefits

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As the International Council of Nurses calls for investment how Labour Government slashed nurse training in England while ‘resilient’ NHS Scotland trains nearly TWICE as many

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON In the Guardian yesterday: Howard Catton of the International Council of Nurses calls for a co-investment mechanism in global nursing education. Your report on the 93% fall in overseas nurses (Drop in overseas workers is ‘car crash’ for UK hospitals and care homes, say experts, 26 February) lays bare how dependent the UK has become on international recruitment. When visa policy shifts can trigger warnings of an “impending car crash”, it shows a workforce model built on fragility, not resilience. Is … Continue reading As the International Council of Nurses calls for investment how Labour Government slashed nurse training in England while ‘resilient’ NHS Scotland trains nearly TWICE as many

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As the deal is done to buy Ardrossan harbour, how these Tory ministers sold it to enable shareholders to milk rather than to maintain it, how Labour then did nothing and now the SNP Government is blamed for not buying it back and repairing it quick enough?

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From STV yesterday: Negotiations to bring Ardrossan Harbour into public ownership have been completed, the Transport Secretary has said.The facility is currently owned by Peel Ports, but has been sought by the Scottish Government’s ferry procurement arm Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) since it became clear two new ferries serving the route between the mainland and the Isle of Arran would not be able to dock there. The Glen Sannox entered service last year with its sister ship, … Continue reading As the deal is done to buy Ardrossan harbour, how these Tory ministers sold it to enable shareholders to milk rather than to maintain it, how Labour then did nothing and now the SNP Government is blamed for not buying it back and repairing it quick enough?

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Only 20 years after ‘Scotland was one of the most unsafe countries to live in’, polls reveal Scots worry less about crime than in any other part of Europe

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Today, pollster Ipsos are reporting that across Europe, people worry more about crime and violence than anything else, climbing above other concerns from early 2025. Here’s the trend. It may be that for some of the above 30 countries crime and violence is not the number one concern but I can see no data to explore, for that. In Ipsos Scotland‘s most recent poll, December 2025, Crime and anti-social behaviour/law and order was eighth, at 20% and had … Continue reading Only 20 years after ‘Scotland was one of the most unsafe countries to live in’, polls reveal Scots worry less about crime than in any other part of Europe

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These Tory ministers sold profitable harbours like Ardrossan to enable shareholders to milk rather than to maintain them, Labour then did nothing and now the SNP Government is blamed for not buying it back and repairing it quick enough?

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON For more than two years now Scotland’s media have been blaming the Scottish Government for problems at Ardrossan harbour and it’s Arran ferry service. Little media coverage has targeted the owners, a Manchester billionaire. How did we get here? I asked AI, carefully. Today, known as Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind and The Lord MacGregor of Pulham Market, these men above, were successively secretaries of State for Scotland, at the time, driven by PM John Major’s ongoing Thatcherite sell-offs, who managed the … Continue reading These Tory ministers sold profitable harbours like Ardrossan to enable shareholders to milk rather than to maintain them, Labour then did nothing and now the SNP Government is blamed for not buying it back and repairing it quick enough?

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NHS Scotland maintains lower bed occupancy than NHS England as called for by Royal college of Emergency Medicine and linked in research to lower excess mortality in extreme events

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From Public Health Scotland, Acute hospital activity and NHS beds information (quarterly) Quarter ending 30 September 2025 published today: There were on average 13,446 available staffed beds per day for all acute specialties in the quarter ending 30 September 2025 – a 0.6% decrease compared to the same quarter in the previous year. An available staffed bed is a bed which is resourced for inpatient or day case care. Of these, 9,499 (71%) were for medical specialties and … Continue reading NHS Scotland maintains lower bed occupancy than NHS England as called for by Royal college of Emergency Medicine and linked in research to lower excess mortality in extreme events

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Washington State’s ferry fiasco is so bad politician wants to return to the 1930s for a solution

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Washington State and the cluster of islands around Seattle, with a GDP double that in Scotland, has been served by Washington State Ferries in a manner that would shock ferry users in Scotland. From KIRO Seattle, four days ago: With the Washington State Ferry system continuing to struggle to stay at full capacity and no new boats expected until 2030, at the earliest, is it time to bring back the Mosquito Fleet? One lawmaker is pushing the idea, … Continue reading Washington State’s ferry fiasco is so bad politician wants to return to the 1930s for a solution

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No Royal in the future will be heard “purring down the line” over Scotland

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON By Liz S A huge factor in the flawed part of Gordon Brown’s past ‘plot’ to encourage Prince William to help in persuading (gullible) Scots to stay within their UK, as in William the future heir to the English Throne (if , that is, it, as an English throne, still exists in the future) . Remember when it was reported in 2021 that Gordon Brown met with Prince William at Holyrood palace. The BBC reported that “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have held a private meeting … Continue reading No Royal in the future will be heard “purring down the line” over Scotland

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A message for Scotland’s voters as Labour double down on nuclear – Researchers revisit study of Essex nuclear power station and breast cancer incidence among mature women nearby to find an even greater risk, only a short distance from new Sizewell C, and an ‘establishment bias and cover-up’

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON The Blackwater, Crouch, Roach and Colne Estuaries Marine Conservation Zone in Essex (see map below) was designated a MCZ in December 2013 on account, primarily, of its native oyster beds. The MCZ incorporates the Colne Estuary SPA (Colchester), the Blackwater SPA (Maldon) and the Crouch and Roach SPA (Burnham-on-Crouch/Rochford), as well as the Essex Estuaries Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and other SPA designations (Dengie and Foulness). At the head of the Blackwater Estuary lies the Bradwell Nuclear Power Station (its Magnox … Continue reading A message for Scotland’s voters as Labour double down on nuclear – Researchers revisit study of Essex nuclear power station and breast cancer incidence among mature women nearby to find an even greater risk, only a short distance from new Sizewell C, and an ‘establishment bias and cover-up’