(Hmm, didn’t know she was a four-star general now)
For some time now, the Tories have been banging on about direct cuts to NHS Scotland being greater than the Tories’ own UK target of 4% and ignoring both the obvious explanation of the pooling of health and social care budgets and the consequent avoidance, here, of the ‘humanitarian crises’ we’ve seen in England over the last two winters.
Even BBC Scotland were able to spot the effectiveness of the SNP strategy to integrate health and social care, after the winter of 2016/2017:
‘Out of all the four nations, hospitals in Scotland seem [seem?] to have fared the best.
Much of the credit has been given to the way councils and the health services are working together [Who instructed and funded them so that they could do so?].
Budgets have been pooled [by the Scottish government], encouraging a close working relationship to help get frail patients out of hospital by providing extra rehabilitation services in the community.’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38853700
This week, a report from the Health Foundation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (no supporter of Scottish independence), revealed the level of spending on social care in Scotland which has resulted from the pooling of budgets. First, the trend in overall spending on social care under the SNP administration:
‘Spending on social care has followed a different pattern. Across the UK as a whole, public spending on adult social care fell by nearly 10% between 2009–10 and 2016–17, despite significant real increases in spending in Scotland.’ (page iii)
Second, the percentage gap between the Scottish and English systems so clearly associated with the crisis in the latter:
‘In 2015–16, social care spending per adult was 31% lower in England than in Scotland.’ (page 1)
Third, variation in spending across the UK:
‘As a result, as shown in Figure 1.6, per-person public health spending varies across the different parts of the UK. In 2015–16, it was highest in Scotland at £2,387. This compares with spending of £2,302 in Northern Ireland, £2,249 in Wales and £2,226 in England.’ (page 7)
Securing the future: funding health and social care to the 2030s, The Health Foundation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies, https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/R143.pdf
It’s not difficult to understand, is it?
Talking-up Scotland 
There is a fair bit of promotion of Ms Davidson going on at present. Yesterday, the terminally smug, Ms Alison Rowat did a real saccharine, vomit inducing puff. Last week Mr Chris Deerin, in the New Statesman, did a piece about ‘who will fill the Ruth Davidson sized hole?’ when she goes on maternity leave. Earlier that week, the Guardian had a eulogy and in the Times (the ‘Thunderer’, not the Herald’s stablemate) one of its political correspondents explicitly stated, in the context of Mrs May’s continuing travails, the need for Ms Davidson to move to Westminster.
It seems to me that there is a definite image creation campaign on just now, with whispers about Mrs May’s possible demise.
She made a speech in London about reorganisation of the UK, which was very publicly supported by Mr Gove, who clearly feels his own leadership chances are compromised but could become the ‘queenmaker’. (no homophobic intent – I am giving the term ‘kingmaker’ its proper gender in this context.)
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Yes , I think we could safely say Davidson and all her journalistic allies are “on manoeuvres ” ! .
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The SNP publish its Growth Commission report and who does Radio 4’s flagship world at one have on?
Why its our very own Col Ruthie. On to whine and moan about the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon and independence. The journalist had no serious points to put to her about Scotland, so she had a field day. They might have had Andrew Wilson on to answer some of her questions, but it seems that the BEEB is set to reprise its role in 2014.
One of Ruthies most vociferous whines was about taxation. Oddly I notice Jeremy Hunt is now a proponent of increased taxes. Has anyone told Ruthie?
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For my sins my alarm radio wakes me to GMS at 6am (just for the headlines and weather) and then I never listen again and I don’t have tv. The headline at 6am on the Growth Commission report was a rant from Davidson at FMQ’s. Even by GMS standards this was the worst propaganda I’ve heard for some time. Nothing from SNP in the headline, or even a neutral, factual headline that it had been published and comment would broadcast later. No, they set the agenda, that this was a bad thing, that this was divisive, that the SG were ignoring the “real” issues and not that it was a big report containing a lot of well researched material, some of which even Tories and Labour might agree with. I was so incensed by their partisanship I was moved to tweet to Gary Robertson. Wont make any difference though.
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Almost caught out there , the resemblance is uncanny , one is a batshit crazy nut job and the other is the twisted warped head of a Looney organisation, oh sugar have i mixed them up , well i will have to think that one out i guess .Well both are kinda interchangeable i suppose .
This must be the only country in the developed world where half the population has little or no representation in the media , this half of the population actually form the freely elected government and have so for probably 10 years , yet the BBC in Scotland pretend they dont exist , a very peculiar situation .Maybe they think they will go away and normal service will be resumed any day now , Aye in yer f/kn dreams BBC they are staying and you are leaving , Now that is Guaranteed
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If The Col. is gearing up as the True Blue Tory candidate for ‘England’s’ PM I thought this piece re. the light Red-ish Tories’ candidate from beeb N.Ireland website was mildly interesting. Edit below of comments made by Jezza at his speech at Queen’s University during his quick jaunt to N.Ireland yesterday:
The leader of the opposition told his audience he was not asking for a border poll, but in an interview with the BBC he was asked how a Corbyn government would handle such a campaign if it happened on his watch.
“It’s within the terms of the Good Friday Agreement that such a poll could be held if there was a willingness to do so, at that point you don’t stand in its way, but it is within the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and I think the UK government should be neutral in that respect,” he replied.
David Cameron’s Conservative government campaigned for Scotland to remain in the UK ahead of the Scottish independence referendum in 2014, but Mr Corbyn said he would not take that approach. (beeb writer is ambiguous – but they mean re. Northern Ireland)
“I think there has to be a decision within terms of the Good Friday Agreement, we’re dealing with conjectures here, we’re quite a long way off from any of this.
“We would be ensuring the Good Friday Agreement is carried out to the letter.”
Given that Oh Jeremiah is COMMITTING any Westminster administration he heads to NEUTRALITY in any Irish Border Poll then – logic dictates – he should do the same regarding any CONSTITUTIONAL vote in Scotland. Do we think he’ll do that? – No we don’t. However, he has made an interesting comment – and these days the Citizens’ Media won’t allow these things to be quietly forgotten as was the way in the past.
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