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School suspensions fall again to only one-tenth of the level in England and a quarter of that under Scottish Labour as SNP policies embed

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On BBC UK’s Breakfast show this morning, a piece on the shocking increase and overall level of temporary suspension’s and permanent exclusions in England’s schools. There were 10 900 permanent exclusions! They didn’t mention other parts of the UK and BBC Scotland did not cover the issue despite having had frequent reports on various supposed crises in Scottish schools based on supposed evidence from the opposition parties. This may be why they’re not going there: Last year in Scotland’s schools there were 10 647 temporary exclusions, down from 11 672 the previous year and nearly 40 000 (39 553) when … Continue reading School suspensions fall again to only one-tenth of the level in England and a quarter of that under Scottish Labour as SNP policies embed

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In Scotland even anti-immigration groups will have nothing to do with racist Nazis

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From STV on 20th January 2026: A Falkirk anti-immigration protest group has announced it will disband because of the attendance of neo-Nazis at demonstrations. Campaign group Save Our Future and Our Kids Future organised protests outside the Cladhan Hotel, which houses asylum seekers, consistently over the last year. The demonstrations have attracted far-right groups, including Patriotic Alternative (PA) and the Homeland Party. PA is a white nationalist group founded by former BNP youth leader Mark Collett. In a documentary, released by Channel 4 in 2002, Collett was caught on camera referring to Africans and homosexuals who died due to HIV-AIDS … Continue reading In Scotland even anti-immigration groups will have nothing to do with racist Nazis

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BBC Scotland repeating the lie that hospital infections ‘led to deaths in patients’ in reporting that exploits tragedy for political purposes

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For the second day running, BBC Scotland seeks to misrepresent the findings of an official inquiry into a hospital-acquired infections inquiry. They tell us: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) had consistently denied bacteria in the water was responsible for causing some infections which led to the deaths of patients. But in closing submissions to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, external it has now admitted “on the balance of probabilities”, that there was a “causal connection” between some infections and the hospital environment. That’s correct, true, but you need to have your wits about you for for their next sneaky move. The above is … Continue reading BBC Scotland repeating the lie that hospital infections ‘led to deaths in patients’ in reporting that exploits tragedy for political purposes

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Reliable transparent 12 hour A&E figures confirm corridor care in NHS Scotland less than half as common as in Labour-run England but Daily Record uses a single tragedy on behalf of Labour in Scotland

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It’s another single case plucked out by grubby figures, taking advantage of a distressed family and platformed, front page, by a newspaper little better than a Labour party election leaflet. Explicit figures are not published anywhere but there’s a good proxy for corridor care and that’s 12 hour waits in A&E. By definition if you’re waiting 12 hours after triage assessment and maybe some treatment before getting a bed, that is ‘corridor care.’ A fuller AI rationale for the use of 12 hour waits, based heavily on the views of the Royal College of Medicine, Age Concern and even NHS England itself, … Continue reading Reliable transparent 12 hour A&E figures confirm corridor care in NHS Scotland less than half as common as in Labour-run England but Daily Record uses a single tragedy on behalf of Labour in Scotland

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Scotland’s Auditor General fails to audit the most important thing in the NHS and England’s doesn’t even try when he really should do

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Thanks to cuckooshoe for alerting us to this: Scotland’s high-profile media auditor, Stephen Boyle, has been all over with his latest claim of delayed discharges costs damaging NHS Scotland.1 From the Institute for Government report – Performance Tracker 2025: Hospitals – published on 14 November 2025: There was no month in 2024/25 in which general and acute bed occupancy was below 91.4%, well above the Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s recommendation that trusts should have an upper ceiling of 85% for bed occupancy.2 The auditor general for England has not audited this in living memory and certainly never bothers to … Continue reading Scotland’s Auditor General fails to audit the most important thing in the NHS and England’s doesn’t even try when he really should do

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BBC Scotland conceals disability charity chief’s comment in letter rejecting MBE that ‘Scotland is doing better than UK’ – Here’s why it matters so much -suicide prevention – and why it CAN be afforded

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Professor John Robertson OBA The Guardian today has: Campaigner turned down MBE over ‘scapegoating’ of people with disabilities – Exclusive: In letter declining proposed award, Tressa Burke, CEO of Glasgow Disability Alliance, accused government of ‘fuelling hatred’ and While she argues that “Scotland is doing better than the UK for sure”, Burke says her members will be watching carefully for the practical implementation of the Scottish government’s new disability equality plan, as well as what manifesto commitments are made before May’s Holyrood elections. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/30/campaigner-turned-down-mbe-over-scapegoating-of-people-with-disabilities BBC Scotland’s report is careful to avoid her comments on Scotland: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gvdz4y6dgo What did she mean? … Continue reading BBC Scotland conceals disability charity chief’s comment in letter rejecting MBE that ‘Scotland is doing better than UK’ – Here’s why it matters so much -suicide prevention – and why it CAN be afforded

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UK Labour Government to copy SNP policy on specialist rape and sexual offence investigation teams from 2013, 16 years too late, in a culture where these offences are between twice and three times as common!

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Politics today: All police forces to get specialist sexual offence teams, Mahmood pledges – Specialist rape and sexual offence investigation teams will be introduced to every police force in England and Wales by 2029, the government has pledged. It is part of a long-delayed plan aimed at halving violence against women and girls within a decade. In Scotland: Police Scotland’s specialist sexual offence teams, including the divisional Rape Investigation Units and the National Rape Task Force, were established following the creation of Police Scotland on 1 April 2013.This came from the merger of Scotland’s … Continue reading UK Labour Government to copy SNP policy on specialist rape and sexual offence investigation teams from 2013, 16 years too late, in a culture where these offences are between twice and three times as common!

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There is a marked overall decline in youth violence in Scotland but a surge from 2012 in England as Tory austerity kicked in

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Professor John Robertson OBA Today’s reporting of apparent surges in youth violence across parts of England bears no resemblance to Scotland other than in the bonfire riots in 2023 and before. What is the long-term youth violence trend in Scotland? Overview of Youth Violence in ScotlandYouth violence in Scotland typically refers to violent incidents (e.g., assaults, robberies, or homicides) involving individuals under 18 as victims, perpetrators, or both. Data comes from sources like the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS, a victimization survey), Recorded Crime in Scotland (police data), and cohort studies such as the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions … Continue reading There is a marked overall decline in youth violence in Scotland but a surge from 2012 in England as Tory austerity kicked in

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English schools excluding pupils at twice the rate and expelling infinitely more often than in Scotland with consequent surges in youth crime

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Professor John Robertson OBA From School attendance, absence and exclusions statistics 2024-25 published yesterday: Cases of exclusion decreased from 11,673 in 2022/23 to 10,647 in 2024/25. This is consistent with the overall downward trend since 2006/07. The rate of exclusions per 1,000 pupils decreased from 16.6 in 2022/23 to 15.2 in 2024/25. This is consistent with the overall downward trend since 2006/07. No pupils were removed from the register in 2024/25, compared with one pupil in 2022/23. This is the first time there has been no pupils removed from the register since records began in 2002/03. In England, in the same period, … Continue reading English schools excluding pupils at twice the rate and expelling infinitely more often than in Scotland with consequent surges in youth crime

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Scotland’s schools surging ahead of those in England in literacy and numeracy attainment

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Levels 2024-25 published today, we see that in Scotland’s schools there have been significant increases in the numbers of pupils achieving the expected levels in the four years since the pandemic.1 Remember these, at first sight, small percentage differences refer to around 50 000 pupils at each level so the 4% improvement in S3 literacy means 2 000 more pupils succeeded last year than in 2021/2022. Scotland’s media have yet to respond. It will be interesting if irritating to see how they try to spin this success down. The … Continue reading Scotland’s schools surging ahead of those in England in literacy and numeracy attainment