Tag: travel

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‘County Lines crackdown after cops smash English gang moving drugs to Aberdeen’

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That’s the Express headline above. BBC Scotland‘s website has no coverage, concentrating on whether police officers can be bearded but in the BBC Breakfast insert this morning they did say ‘County Lines‘ for the first time. That’s progress I suppose. The Express also has: Separately, six groups involved in county lines drugs and organised crime in Aberdeen have been targeted by police since June in a joint operation with the Met Police in London. Class A drugs, including crack cocaine and heroin, were being moved between London, Liverpool and Hertfordshire to addresses in Aberdeen, prompting 63 arrests in connection with … Continue reading ‘County Lines crackdown after cops smash English gang moving drugs to Aberdeen’

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Scotland’s prison population surged under Labour as they built too few new spaces but has stabilised since SNP took charge

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Scottish Prison Population Statistics 2023-24, published today, we can see that there were only 5 868 prisoners in 2000 but by 2008, as the SNP minority government took over, there were 7827, a 34% increase in only 8 years. 17 years later in 2024, there 7 856.1 In 2005, the Guardian could report: A new report claims Scotland has a higher murder rate than America. The UN says it’s the ‘most violent place in the developed world’.2 By 2024, Scotland has the lowest violent crime levels in the UK3. Sounds like new prisons are not the … Continue reading Scotland’s prison population surged under Labour as they built too few new spaces but has stabilised since SNP took charge

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The nearly 2 000 saved from Covid death in Scotland that BBC will not tell you about

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The above table from the UK Covid Inquiry report, posted today by https://x.com/ammacj makes clear that Scotland had a 14% lower Covid death rate than UK and a 36% lower excess death rate than UK. The second table, above, make clear the scale of loss not at first apparent in percentages. Had Scotland’s pandemic response strategy been managed by the UK Tory government, 14%, 1 867, more might have died, but BBC Scotland’s view: As the UK Covid inquiry turns its attention to Scotland, what do the statistics tell us about how many people died in different countries? Our best … Continue reading The nearly 2 000 saved from Covid death in Scotland that BBC will not tell you about

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NHS Scotland’s stunning 98% completion rate as operations return steadily to pre-pandemic levels less than two years after the end of the ‘Greatest test since World War Two’

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Less than 2 years after the World Health Organisation declared an end to the Covid-19 pandemic on May 5 2023, and the ‘Greatest test since World War Two’ according to the United Nations Secretary General, with global economic collapse and longer-term health damage to millions, and Scotland’s Auditor General seems to have ignored the evidence to deny that NHS Scotland can and will survive while holding to the principles we all value deeply. The evidence which is easily available, making you wonder at his political agenda here, includes this: From Public Health Scotland, the above graph … Continue reading NHS Scotland’s stunning 98% completion rate as operations return steadily to pre-pandemic levels less than two years after the end of the ‘Greatest test since World War Two’

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Canadian ferry service prices to rise 30% to cope with 16 aging vessels 30 decrepit terminals

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From the Vancouver Sun, yesterday: The CEO of B.C. Ferries is warning the company may need to increase fares by 30 per cent or more in 2028, when its current fare structure expires. Nicolas Jimenez says in a written statement the provincially owned corporation had forecast last year that such a price rise would be needed to keep up with operating and capital costs. But, he said costs since then have jumped, including a 40 per cent increase in shipbuilding expenses since 2020. The rising costs have created “a growing funding gap” that Jimenez says will require “a sustainable funding … Continue reading Canadian ferry service prices to rise 30% to cope with 16 aging vessels 30 decrepit terminals

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NHS Scotland seeing far more, per head, within crucial 18 weeks target

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland today: Of all pathways completed, 85.7% (242,384) were fully measurable against the 18-week standard. 68.1% (164,983) of these pathways were completed within 18 weeks of referral, an increase from 65.5% in the previous quarter.1 From the Nuffield Trust in April 2024, the most recent comparable data I can find, the equivalent figure was only 57%.2 Put simply, if NHS Scotland had been led by a Conservative government, 8-9% of the 242 384 referred, around 20 000 patients, would have waited longer than they did in Scotland. Why does the 18 week target matter … Continue reading NHS Scotland seeing far more, per head, within crucial 18 weeks target

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Sarwar pulls wee boy huffy face when confronted with uncomfortable facts on housing

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By Professor John Robertson OBA That face! It’s the one a wee boy pulls when he’s caught out telling a porky. At First Minister’s Questions on 21 November 2024, Anas Sarwar theatrically suggested a crisis in housing and didn’t much like being told the truth. Here it is: Year after year, Scotland builds far more, 370 000 per head, affordable (really) housing than England Today, the Scottish Government published Affordable Housing Supply Programme: quarterly updates on approvals, site starts and completions for the year 2023/2024. I thought I’d compare this with the most recent data for England. There are doubts about just how affordable … Continue reading Sarwar pulls wee boy huffy face when confronted with uncomfortable facts on housing

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NHS Scotland/Scottish Government to avoid ‘toxic staffing row splitting the NHS’ in England, with more training and better conditions

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Health this morning: Julia’s first four years as a physician associate [PA] was everything she hoped it would be. After working in the NHS for the best part of a decade in a non-patient facing role, she was delighted to be on the wards supporting doctors and the wider healthcare teams. “I loved the contact I had with patients, assessing them and playing a part in their care. I felt supported and part of a team.” That all changed about a year ago. “Suddenly we came under attack. Doctors in the radiology department started refusing … Continue reading NHS Scotland/Scottish Government to avoid ‘toxic staffing row splitting the NHS’ in England, with more training and better conditions

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Yes your Maj, Scotland “should think carefully about its future” out of England and back into Europe

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By Anonymous Labour are making the public, the same ones who elected them, pay for the so called ‘financial black hole’ that Labour says exists in the public finances , while Labour, as the new UK government, are also happy to continue to pander to royalty sponging off the public’s taxes. The recent revelation on a £45 million increase for the royal family and then, as per this article, the costs of King Charles coronation also saw another eye watering amount being wasted on pomp and ceremony to pander to his , Charles, ego and his sense of superiority within his so called kingdom. Then we … Continue reading Yes your Maj, Scotland “should think carefully about its future” out of England and back into Europe

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Large complex new ferry comes into service in best ferry service in the World

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By Professor John Robertson, Genuine Ferry Correspondent BBC Scotland’s welcome for the largest and most advanced ferry ever in the UK, massively subsidised to keep workers in jobs and give islanders a cheap service to locations, privately owned systems across the globe would just abandon, is typically grudging and saturated with cringe: Ferries saga ship Glen Sannox finally delivered, The long-delayed ship at the centre of Scotland’s ferries saga has been handed over by the Ferguson shipyard, exactly seven years after it was launched. Got any evidence? Just this, all of this: First, The MV Caledonian Isles was taken off the Arran/Ayrshire … Continue reading Large complex new ferry comes into service in best ferry service in the World