(c) Getty, Getty, Savile

Still reeling from revelations of paedophilia among it stars, BBC Scotland has been accused again of shoddy journalism by an unnamed UK Government source. On Thursday at 06:26am and another five times that morning, BBC Scotland reported:

‘The SNP wants a second independence referendum over a vote on the final Brexit deal. Ian Blackford who leads the party at Westminster said the party must not lose sight of the option of another independence vote in the event of a hard Brexit.  A UK Government source accused the SNP of using Brexit as an excuse to revive the independence campaign and putting their part interests before the country’s.’

It’s hard to believe that that BBC Scotland can’t remember the name of their source or that he/she didn’t want to be named. So, they either made it up ‘to balance the report’ against the SNP or it was Fluffy Mundell and they’re embarrassed to use him as a source

Professor Robertson’s source may not have been John Whittingdale, former chairman of parliament’s powerful media committee but he did once tell Reuters:

‘The level of failure of management at every level within the BBC, up to and including the director general, is just extraordinary.’

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-bbc/bbc-under-fire-again-after-false-child-sex-abuse-report-idUKBRE8A90BP20121110

Maybe it was Lord Tebbit, who now supports Scottish Independence, for reasons best not disclosed, but I really can’t remember who it was now. Does it matter?

(c) 4allports.com

From Insider today:

‘Agricultural trade specialist Cefetra has agreed a multi-million pound long-term contract with Forth Ports to make the Port of Rosyth its agri-hub for Scotland. It will be deepened to provide a deep-water port capable of taking vessels carrying up to 50,000 tonnes of cargo. The existing storage space will be enhanced with the addition of a new, extensive, purpose-built agricultural products terminal increasing the storage area to around 100,000 tonnes.’

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/port-of-rosyth-forth-ports-12844228

Annual activity is expected to be greater than 500 000 tonnes worth more £100 million.

(c) Scottish Prison Service

I can’t answer that question directly because I can’t find any evidence of the rate of departures in Scotland and, as we all know, the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence….or is it? In the specific context of Scottish media coverage, if something is potentially bad news for the SNP or for the Scottish Government, then we can be sure it would be covered obsessively. You only have to look at the recent coverage of SNP politicians sending ill-judged texts, having shady business connections or of their voting behaviour in London, and contrast that with the same media’s neglect of Tory child rapists, of sectarian tweets and of dark money, to see the sharp contrast.

The Flood in England and Wales:

Now, there is currently a flood of prison officers leaving the service in England and Wales. See:

Number of UK prison officers resigning soars amid increasing levels of violence and self-harm

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-prisons-self-harm-violent-attack-suicide-levels-england-wales-a8323791.html

I can find no sign of any comparable flood or even a wee trickle in Scotland. Given the nature of our media, I feel sure that this is sure evidence of absence. If there was such a thing, they’d be all over it, but they aren’t, so it isn’t.

The scale of the problem in England & Wales is staggering. See this from the Independent yesterday:

‘One in 16 officers resigned last year, compared with one in 33 officers two years before and just one in 100 in 2009/10 ( PA ) The number of prison officers resigning from their jobs has more than doubled in the last two years amid soaring levels of violence and self-harm in UK jails, the Independent can reveal.’

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/number-of-prison-officers-resigning-from-post-soars-amid-soaring-levels-of-violence-and-selfharm-a8427616.html

Why no flood in Scotland?

The next question is why is there no comparative flood in Scotland? Less than year ago, Holyrood statistics offered a plausible reason:

‘Scottish prisons are significantly less violent than jails in England and Wales, with lower rates of inmate aggression, according to statistics released by the Scottish parliament. Figures compiled by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre revealed that last year there were 73% fewer outbreaks of violence in Scottish jails than in prisons in England and Wales. For every 1,000 inmates in England and Wales, there were 32 recorded prisoner-on-prisoner attacks and nine directed against prison staff.  Over the same period in Scotland, for every 1,000 inmates there were just 10 recorded instances of prisoners attacking each other and one incident of a violent assault on wardens. In total, there were 79 serious assaults in Scottish prisons last year, while in England and Wales, prison chiefs logged 3,553.’

https://www.holyrood.com/articles/inside-politics/what-are-we-doing-right-scottish-prisons-isnt-working-england

While attacks on guards will be a major factor, self-harm by prisoners will surely add to the stress felt by staff and the evidence here is shockingly different. First, see this for England & Wales:

‘Self-harm and violent attacks have hit record levels in prisons across England and Wales as campaigners warn of a “system in crisis”. More than 11,600 prisoners harmed themselves in 2017 – a record high – and the number of separate incidents rose by 11 per cent to 44,600. Self-harm is now being recorded every 12 minutes on average and violent assault at 18-minute intervals, with 23 attacks on staff every day.’

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-prisons-self-harm-violent-attack-suicide-levels-england-wales-a8323791.html

A study by the Ferret with the intention of drawing attention to the situation in Scotland found, however, markedly lower levels than the above:

‘Figures for recorded incidents of self-harm at 15 prisons across the country have been released to The Ferret by SPS under freedom of information law. The figures include threats to self-harm and suicide attempts, as well as cases in which harm occurred. In all 15 prisons the total number of self-harm incidents rose from 305 in 2013-14 and 315 in 2014-15, to 429 in 2015-16 and 428 in 2016-17.’

https://theferret.scot/revealed-rise-self-harm-scottish-prisons/

So, there were 44 600 incidents of self-harm in England & Wales but only 428  in Scotland. You can probably see where this is going.

First, the prison population in Scotland is 7 700 and 428 is 5.5% of that. The prison population in England and Wales is 85 500 and 44 600 is 52% of that. So self-harm may be more than ten times as common in English and Welsh prisons.

researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN04334/SN04334.pdf

Why less violence in Scottish Prisons?

Here’s what Colin McConnell, chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service said in October 2017:

‘So, what is Scotland doing right that England is getting wrong? McConnell says he is asked that question regularly, both in Scotland, but also by justice sector colleagues in England. With a degree of caution, given that commenting on England’s prison service might come across as “hubristic”, McConnell says his impression, based on reports from prison bodies south of the border, is of “excessive budget pressures”, inconsistent policy and a lack of a sense of direction. In contrast, he is full of praise for the Scottish Government’s handling of prisons. “Compare that fairly, and I think evidentially, with what’s happening in Scotland, and I think what we’ve benefited from here…has been a consistent form of government. Some may disagree with that view, but I’ve been running the SPS for approaching six years now and no doubt, I have benefited from a consistent requirement presentation from the Scottish Government in terms of what prisons should be doing, and that relationship, therefore, builds up over time.…I think we’ve had consistency and clarity of expectation. I think related to that has been, therefore, a consistent approach to the funding. For the service, yes, of course, we’ve had to make cost reductions, just like every other public sector organisation has had to do, but I think the Scottish Government, and again, this is evidenced based, has done what it can to make sure that only the savings that are absolutely required have to be made and those savings [are] moderated by the need to be consistent in the journey that we’re going.” McConnell says there is a view in Scotland that the prison experience has to be as positive as possible – within reason – so that the prison experience can help people to re-orientate themselves and not just simply fall back to the ways that got them into prison in the first place. That takes “political guts” and determination as well as operational skill to make that happen, he says.’

https://www.holyrood.com/articles/inside-politics/what-are-we-doing-right-scottish-prisons-isnt-working-england

This is such a positive picture of good governance by the SNP administration that all Ruth Davidson can do is find one example of prisoner supervision gone wrong, ignore the bigger picture and try to build a whole critique on it.

 

‘From Energy Voice today: A huge swing in North Sea oil revenues suggests the sector is “alive and well”, an industry chief said. UK Government revenues from oil production climbed to £1.18 billion in 2017-18, from the previous record low of minus £316 million the previous year, new figures from HMRC show.’

https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/north-sea/175635/north-sea-alive-and-well-as-tax-receipts-back-to-black/

Now, a swing from minus £316 million to plus £1.18 billion may seem a lot, even ‘huge’ but it’s not against the background of oil prices soaring from $27.67pb in 2016 to around $80pb today and with $100pb on the cards. See this for evidence:

A fifth prediction of oil rising to $100 per barrel for Scottish oil, suggests pre-tax revenue of around $1 trillion!

So even at $80pb how much should the Treasury be taking in? Here’s an adaption of an earlier piece working it out:

Remember the OBR, a George Osborne creation, regularly forecast doom and despair for an independent Scotland back in 2014. These same forecasts were widely and gleefully used by our Unionist media. Here’s how Energy Voice reported the story in March:

‘A new (OBR) report predicts UK oil and gas revenues will be £400million higher every year from now until 2023 – in the latest sign that the North Sea is on the mend. In its fiscal and economic outlook, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said its revenue forecast had been revised upwards due to higher oil prices, increased production and lower costs. The Oil and Gas Authority recently lifted its long-term forecast [to 2050] for North Sea production by 2.8billion barrels of oil equivalent to 11.7billion barrels.’

They then predict tax revenues of £1 billion for each of the next five years. It was £1.18 billion in 2018, according to HMRC.

https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/north-sea/166095/obr-pushes-north-sea-revenue-projections/

Only £1.18 billion? Nuts!

Here’s how I do the sums:

Even if we accept the conservative 11.7 billion barrels to 2050, at $80 per barrel, that equals total revenue of $936 billion! Production costs estimated by the BP chief, last year, to be no more than $15 per barrel equal $175 billion. So that’s $761 billion or £578 billion, in profit, before wages and shared dividends yet the OBR thinks we only get £1 billion in tax revenue per year. Isn’t that a bit low? UK corporation tax at 20% would give us more than £115 billion to 2050 or £3.6 billion per year. What’s going on here?

Finally, there have been new discoveries since then and there will be, no doubt, more in the years to come.

Let’s not throw this away a second time. Westmonster will just use it to cover the costs of Brexit.

 

From Insider, yesterday:

‘Scotland has been praised for leading the way in its approach and commitment to growing the popularity of employee ownership. The independent Ownership Effect Inquiry, led by the Employee Ownership Association, found a scheme driven by economic development agency Co-operative Development Scotland had helped deliver a “tenfold return on investment for every £1 devoted to on-the-ground support”. And it recommended that the UK Government echo the scheme’s success.’

 

The number of employee-owned businesses in Scotland has trebled to around 100 in the past five years with around 7 000 employee-owners and generating around £940 million.

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/employee-ownership-scotland-economy-boost-12818671

Back in January, Insider reported that it’s estimated that there are around 300 employee-owned businesses in the UK and that almost one-third are in Scotland.

Insider offered two reasons for Scotland having proportionally more of them:

1. The Nuttall Review identified two key obstacles to the wider adoption of employee ownership: lack of awareness and lack of practical support.
2. Co-operative Development Scotland has undertaken some sterling work with advisers, evidenced by the amount of interest shown at its January 2018 seminar. The expert help provided by Co-operative Development Scotland goes a long way to support businesses, and importantly the employees, through the process.

https://www.insider.co.uk/special-reports/graeme-nuttall-on-employee-ownership-11917414

Unless there’s been a surge in the non-Scottish parts of the UK, unlikely under this government, then it’s still around 33% of the employee-owned businesses with only 8% of the population.

The 8% meme is like a cultural gene and I’ve been using the idea to tell us something about Scotland and, in particular, that it is different enough from Tory England in terms of dominant values, to justify wanting to run our own show according to those values. Here are some earlier examples where I use the 8%:

8% of the UK population and 28% of living wage employers. More evidence that we are different enough to want to run the whole show?

Scotland takes nearly 26% of Syrian refugees settled in UK with only 8% of the UK population

Here are some others where I’m making the same point without mentioning the 8% specifically:

80 000 lowest paid workers in NHS England still on poverty wages as NHS Scotland follows Scottish Government policy to pay a living wage to all public-sector employees

Scottish care workers to receive Living Wage for ‘sleepover’ hours while English care workers receive only the National Minimum Wage.

Scottish Government to fight alongside UN to defend disabled against Tory cuts.

The evidence builds and builds. Surely a tipping-point is coming soon.

(c) netweather.tv

From Insider yesterday:

‘An initial assessment for Transport Scotland shows the Queensferry Crossing has improved reliability compared to the older bridge, staying open 14 times when weather would have closed its predecessor to large vehicles Transport Scotland’s Stein Connelly said: “The wind shielding on the Queensferry Crossing is delivering the benefits it was intended to. There have been 14 occasions since the new bridge opened when the Forth Road Bridge would have had to close to high-sided vehicles.”’

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/queensferry-crossing-has-improved-reliability-12819535

It’s not clear how often the crossing was actually closed to traffic but in January 2017, Transport Scotland project director David Climie told BBC Scotland:

‘We expect the wind shields to almost entirely eliminate the need for closures during the frequent periods of high winds in the Forth estuary, apart from in exceptional circumstances.’

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-38598155

This tweet from crossing monitor, Jo Farrow, in October 2017 suggests the crossing was open even in very high winds:

https://www.netweather.tv/weather-forecasts/news/8398-wind-proof—the-new-queensferry-crossing

Given Reporting Scotland’s obsession with difficulties as the old bridge was being maintained, they’ll surely be all over this to fulfil their charter to be balanced?

 

 

(c) Daily Record

The treatment of veterans is one of the great under-reported failures of our supposedly enlightened society in the UK. There are around 13 000 veterans living on the streets and increasing numbers of them are suffering from mental health problems.

https://evolvepolitics.com/tories-failing-soldiers-record-high-13000-veterans-now-homeless-military-charity-says/

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/feb/26/military-wives-ptsd-mental-health-speak-out-raise-awareness

However, the Scottish Government seems determined to do something more than the current neglect of the issue by the UK Government. See this from gov.scot:

‘A new Scottish Veterans Commissioner has been announced by Veterans Minister Designate Graeme Dey.  It comes as the Minister Designate launched a new guide providing practical information about services available in Scotland to support service personnel and their families.’

https://news.gov.scot/news/scottish-veterans-commissioner

There’s maybe not enough evidence of a developed strategy here and that needs to be done quickly but I suppose the intention to do something different here, is there in the appointment. One to monitor.

(c) Scottish Business News Network

From Scotland Food & Drink, yesterday:

• Sector grows by £527 million (in one year?)
• Sector generated a £13.9 billion turnover in 2016, up 3.9% on the previous year.
• Turnover is estimated to have increased by up to 36% since 2007.
• The Scottish Government aims to double the value of food and drink to £30 billion by 2030.

http://www.scotlandfoodanddrink.org/news/article-info/8314/food-and-drink-sales-latest-stats-show-sector-grows-by-%C2%A3527-million.aspx

In the absence of comparative figures, these increases suggest that earlier headlines still stand, if they’re not even better:

Still 8% of the population but now 30% of UK food and drink exports?

With only 8% of the population, Scotland accounts for more than 28% of UK food and drink exports. Too wee to survive on our own?

(c) officerofthewatch.com

In Oil & Gas People today:

‘Oil rose to a level last seen in late 2014 after U.S. crude stockpiles tumbled by the most since September 2016. Futures rose as much as 3.4% in New York on Wednesday. Domestic crude inventories declined by 9.89 MMbl last week, while refiners boosted oil processing rates and exports soared to a record, the Energy Information Administration said. Oil stored at the key pipeline hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, shrank for a sixth straight week. Brent futures for August settlement advanced $1.48 to $77.79 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude was at a $4.86 premium to WTI.’

https://www.oilandgaspeople.com/news/16868/crude-surges-to-3-1-2-year-high-after-us-stockpiles-plunge/

As you might expect, increased value has triggered increased revenue for the Treasury, increased exploration levels and a return to high levels of employment around Aberdeen:

A fifth prediction of oil rising to $100 per barrel for Scottish oil, suggests pre-tax revenue of around $1 trillion!

A wealthy independent Scotland? Nearly $300 billion in new oil revenue to be unlocked in latest offshore licensing round.

Oil prices to rise to $70 per barrel this summer as two new fields are discovered in last two weeks

Another major oil-find in Scottish sector of North Sea

Multi-million-barrel oil discovery in North Sea

‘Treasure trove’ of new oil and gas exploration data released

As Scottish oil industry booms, Aberdeen contractors more confident but Scottish media pay little attention.

As oil prices soar and exploration increases, employment in Scotland’s oil industry returns to record levels

 

 

(c) Fraser of Allander Inst

From the Scottish Business News Network today:

‘Provisional annual statistics for 2017 show that renewable electricity generation was 25,166 GWh in 2017 – up 27% on 2016 and up 19% on 2015. This makes 2017 a record year for renewable generation with the equivalent of an estimated 69% of Scotland’s electricity consumption being met from renewables. In 2017, Scottish renewable generation made up approximately 25% of total UK renewable generation and approximately 69% of Scotland’s electricity consumption came from renewables in 2017 – up 15.0 percentage points from previous year.’

https://sbnn.co.uk/2018/06/28/strong-start-for-renewables-following-record-year/

Paul Wheelhouse, Scottish energy minister, in Energy Voice, said:

‘These figures show that Scotland’s renewable energy sector is stronger than ever with almost exactly 1GW of new capacity installed since Q1 2017 and a strong pipeline of further projects still to be constructed. I am delighted that the equivalent of an estimated 69% of Scotland’s electricity consumption was met from renewables in 2017. Despite damaging policy changes from the UK Government that will soon come into full effect, we continue to harness, galvanize and support Scotland’s renewables potential, both in generation and infrastructure, with renewable electricity capacity in Scotland reaching 10.4GW in Q1 this year.’

https://www.energyvoice.com/otherenergy/175439/scottish-weather-conditions-cause-2018-renewables-surge/

BBC Scotland seems to have missed this news.

Other 8% stories:

8% of the population but 11.8% of the charitable donations – ‘punching above our weight?’

8% of the population, nearly 9% of the exports but only 5.25% of the imports

Return of the meme? Only 8% of the population but Scotland has 21.7% of all independent renewable projects in the UK

Still 8% of the population but now 30% of UK food and drink exports?

8% of the UK population and 28% of living wage employers. More evidence that we are different enough to want to run the whole show?

With only 8% of the population, Scotland’s maritime sector accounts for 25% of the UK maritime sector’s (GVA) contribution to the economy and is 17.5% more productive than the UK marine oil and gas sector. Once more, too wee, too poor?

Once again, it’s the ‘8% of the UK population but much more of something good’ meme. This time it’s 33% of employee-owned firms in the UK