According to the Scottish Information Commissioner’s (SIC) records, in the last three years (2005 to mid 2007), of the Labour/Lib-Dem coalition, BBC Scotland made only three FoI requests of Scottish Government departments. It would have been surprising if they had made more because a public service provider depends on government for its funding and so is unlikely to try to expose any flaws in any of its departments. Don’t bite the hand as they say. Again, according to the Scottish Information Commissioner’s records In the last three years of the SNP government (2014 to 29 November 2016), they made twenty-six! The SIC does not receive all the requests made and does not know of any made directly by the BBC to local governments or health boards. According to the Scottish Government’s Strategy and Constitution Directorate, BBC Scotland has made a total of 160 FoI requests since January 2008!
I’m still waiting for a response from the English equivalent to the SIC to see how many FoI requests BBC England has made. I’m also still waiting on a response to my FoI request to BBC Scotland.
Readers of Wings over Scotland will remember their August 2015 request under the Freedom of Information Act for the viewing figures for Good Morning Scotland and the 2015 post-news debate programme. As Wings put it the BBC reply was ‘None of your damned business!’ The Rev then correctly interpreted this as, ‘taxation without representation.’
I was driven to make these requests by the recent disgusting scare story on Scotland’s maternity wards broadcast by Reporting Scotland and proudly claiming credit for their own FoI-base investigative journalism. My response is at:
The last three FoI requests made of the Labour/Lib-Dem coalition were unlikely to have cast any shadow on that Scottish government while all of the last 26 made of the SNP government were about NHS Scotland on topics such as:
‘Cancelled operations’
‘Personal injury compensation claims’
‘Waiting times’
and:
‘GP Practice list cleansing.’
Talk about ‘fucking ambulance chasers!’ You can see what they were after.
I’ve said it before and I’ve been criticised for supposed exaggeration and poor taste but I’ll say it again:
BBC Reporting Scotland’s often daily serial NHS scare stories are almost certainly putting some patients of attending, causing increased anxiety even abject fear in others, and so, causing unnecessary deaths. It must be heart-breaking for NHS Scotland employees to go home and watch this. Have BBC Reporting Scotland no shame?
I know they want to prevent Scottish independence but have they no shame? The might as well join Rupert Murdoch’s stable.
Footnote: I’m currently receiving NHS Scotland care, in Ayr, and it’s bloody marvellous!
Talking-up Scotland 
I see you managed to get the data John. Well done. It certainly is yet another illustration of their shameless modus operandi.
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Thanks but it might be just the tip of an iceberg.
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Just discovered this blog, and been looking through it all John, and glad I did, it has certainly opened my eyes a bit more, and as I refuse to watch the BBC or buy a paper I dont see what they have been getting away with it all,, and honestly think all this blog should be sent to RT or Al Jaz to get all this info out there, well done sir, keep up the fight
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Thanks. I appreciate your encouraging comments.
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Good to have you back again young man. Your treatment by the ” crisis ridden” NHS obviously involves raising your blood temperature to near boiling point:)
It was interesting that while they were doing their wee number on Police Scotland recently, the BBC complained about the length of time they had to wait for a response to the FOI. No sense of irony whatsoever.
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Really? Lets see how long they take with mine. Two weeks so far.
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Great work. Confirmed my suspicions in answer to the exact question I posted a couple of weeks ago.
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Thanks. Support much appreciated.
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Robert Burns’ Such a Parcel of Rouges in a Nation would be very fitting in today’s climate of smears and and lies that are put our by BBC Scotland and newspapers against our SNP Government. More power to your elbow.
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Thanks
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Keep up the good work. BBC propaganda machine really needs to be exposed for what it really stands for.
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Thanks
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Thanks. Support appreciated.
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I note that the Sunday Herald has an editorial comment this morning, which seems to accept that the PISA figures are very important.
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The National has been equally ill-informed and uncritical
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For the last few weeks the Sunday Herald has had Dugdale on the front cover, running a campaign to get her replaced. Ie. Trying to get an ineffectual leader that poses no threat to the SNP deposed. Also stating in Editorial that the SNP must be challenged from the left. Isn’t it better for the SNP to be seen to be standing up to a Tory opposition…..
This week two page spread on Labour’s new policy making test…… Yeah pretending that Scotland will be uppermost in their thoughts when making new policies…..
In the run up to the Hollyrood elections the Sunday Herald and the National worked hard to split the Indy vote,
They say they are pro Indy their actions (especially the SH’s) say otherwise.
The National is a specialist paper , which has very little appeal to joe blogs. Therefore no impact on growing support for Indy.
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I agree that the Sunday Herald’s agenda may not be all that they would have us believe. Common sense should tell us that there are problems with a Unionist newspaper simply switching its allegiance for one day a week.
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Yes good points . I’m not sure but it would be an effective to undermine the whole movement by criticising the only party which deliver. Trojan Horse sounds paranoid but it make alot of to attack the movement from with an apparently proIindy newspaper
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Hi John – a friendly wee comment. There a couple of wee typos in this blog post that might reduce the readability. More power to your elbow from far away Virginia!
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Thanks Jack. Man in a hurray. I’ll tidy them thought most will read by them by now.
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Still in a hurry… ‘putting some patients of attending’ off attending?
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Yes. Need a proof-reader.
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Did eventually get a reply from BBC Scotland – ‘We’re not subject to the FoI Act so don’t need to reply to you.’ As expected.
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