Talking-up Scotland

In today’s report from Aldermore Future Attitudes, 250 000 out of 325 000 small and medium-sized business reported that they felt successful. There was no comparison with UK data but a report in in Scottish Business News on April 19^th 2017 we can see quite sharp differences in the Scottish and UK figures for the related signs of business distress with the former much more optimistic.

What’s known as Red Flag Data, for rUK, showed that signs of business distress were up 17% since the last quarter of 2016 and up 7% year on year. In sharp contrast signs of business distress in Scotland were down 8% on the last quarter of 2016 and down 28% year on year.

Scottish businesses showing signs of greater health than those in the rest of the UK

 

A plausible explanation for the above, at least in part, lies in Scottish Government efforts to supports SMEs here. The Scottish Government reported on October 31^st2017, that a record number of SMEs had benefited from the expanded Small Business Bonus rates scheme in 2016/17. 104,000 SMEs qualified for relief under the scheme reducing or removing rates bills.

40% increase in number of new Scottish businesses mainly under SNP government

For more on this see:

£226 million given in relief to small businesses in 2017-18 as part of most generous scheme in the UK

Scottish businesses report much greater optimism about their futures for the third quarter in a row but the Fraser of Allander ‘Institute’ can’t help scratching their ‘buts’.

Ruth and Kezia sob as they hear Scotland is ranked as the best place in the UK to start a business. Will this good news never end?

From the Unison website on Friday:

‘UNISON is today calling on the [UK] government to enable the NHS to pay the living wage and lift almost 80,000 health employees out of poverty. Ahead of the Living Wage Foundation’s living wage week, UNISON has published an analysis that reveals most workers on the lowest pay bands such as catering assistants, porters, cleaners and pharmacy assistants, in England are paid below the minimum recommended.’

https://www.unison.org.uk/news/2017/11/make-nhs-living-wage-employer-says-unison/

Only Scotland and Wales pay the living wage to all NHS employees and Scotland was first to pay the living wage to all public-sector employees. Recent consultation on taxation suggests that this group will also be protected from any tax increases.

The Scottish Government’s commitment and steps to move Scotland toward a more equal ‘Scandinavian model’ society are good news for all of us. We know already that such societies have less crime, less mental health problems, less drug abuse, better general health, higher productivity and that middle and upper earners recognise these benefits improve their lives too. For more on this, see:

Strong rise in earnings in Scotland to third highest in UK after London and South-east and evidence of a more equal country?

Would Nicola Sturgeon’s fairer and more equal Scotland be a more productive one too?

Scottish public sector to put poverty and inequality at heart of decision-making despite UK Government’s abandonment of the principle

According to the Evening Express, the SNP Economy Secretary, said:

‘Transport Scotland is also currently reviewing work that Nestrans has undertaken to consider the other options for transport improvements north of Aberdeen as part of their Fraserburgh and Peterhead transport study.’

While I’m sure that doing a local feasibility study is the thing to do, the evidence from re-opening the Borders Railway in September 2015 has been shown already to have had major benefits for both Midlothian and Borders regions:

Borders
• The number of visitor days in hotels and bed and breakfasts has risen by 27 per cent
• A 20 per cent rise in visitor spend on food and drink
• Visitor spend on accommodation is up 17 per cent
• A 16 per cent rise in overall visitor spend
• The number of days visitors stayed in the Borders has increased by almost 11 per cent
• Eight per cent increase in employment related to tourism

Midlothian
• A 12.3 per cent rise in the number of visitor days in hotels and bed and breakfasts compared with first six months of 2015
• Visitor spend on food and drink in same period rose by 6.5 per cent
• Overall visitor spend was up 6.8 per cent
• The number of days visitors stayed in Midlothian increased by 7.2 per cent
• A 4.1 per cent improvement in employment related to tourism.

http://www.bordersrailway.co.uk/news/tourism-visitor-figures-boost-attributed-to-borders-railway/

https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/news/local/north-east-railway-line-revival-to-be-considered/

Perhaps we should also be thinking of the ‘Deeside’ from Aberdeen to Ballater? Surely that’d be a winner?  Any other suggestions readers?

Speaking to the members of the Assembly and reported in the Irish Times, Professor Andy Kerr of Edinburgh University’s School of Geosciences, made the following points:

• The Scottish Government set a target for 500MW of locally owned energy generation facilities across Scotland by 2020. Having already met it, it is resetting this target at 1,000MW (1GW) of installed capacity.
• Scotland seems certain to be able to meet all of its electricity demand from renewable sources by 2020
• Scotland hit its 2020 emission targets five years early
• Scotland has gone from delivering 10% to 60% per cent of its electricity consumption from renewables in 15 years.
• The Scottish Government had set the most ambitious renewable targets possible. Instead of the UK goal of having CO2 emissions 32% lower than they were in 1990, the SNP set a target of 42%.
• Scotland has given grants to local communities which allowed them to take an equity share in developments thus reducing objections.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/scotland-on-target-for-100-renewable-energy-by-2020-1.3280498?mode=amp

See more on this at:

Is Scotland as the ‘Saudi of wind’ concept getting more real? ‘Wind and waves?’ Solar too?

(c) pgjonline.com

[Kinneil is in Grangemouth or maybe it’s just in next-door Bo’ness]

Reported in Oil & Gas, yesterday, Ineos have paid $250 million for BP’s ‘interests’ in the Forties pipeline system and as a consequence they will be helping in ‘maximizing the recovery of the UK’s remaining hydrocarbon resource and the new business opportunities they will open up for the oil and gas supply chain will be very welcome.’

It seems that integrating the Ineos plant at Grangemouth with the pipeline will help create new opportunities for further development in the North Sea. This is all very positive-sounding if a little vague at this stage but it does look potentially fruitful for Grangemouth’s refinery and thus for jobs and wealth creation there and in the Central Belt more generally. Maybe, it is part of a recognition by Ineos that they won’t be growing by fracking in Scotland and so must get in on the Third Wave of wealth generation coming from the North Sea. See:

The North Sea’s Third Wave of Wealth Generation: Further evidence from BP as they start production from ‘one of the largest field redevelopments in North Sea history’

New technology to extend life of North Sea oilfields. Reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated

An Edinburgh University Professor says North Sea oil and gas has only ten years left while the Wall Street Journal describes it as an ‘oil hot spot’ and Oil and Gas UK doesn’t recognise his figures. Who’s right?

https://www.oilandgaspeople.com/news/15455/oil-and-gas-uk-welcomes-multi-billion-dollar-north-sea-deals/

 

Abertay University researchers have discovered that being fluent in a dialect, like Dundee Scots or Ayrshire Scots in addition to Standard English is as good for your brain as being fluent in two different languages like, say, English and French.

It seems it’s to do with the ‘switch cost’ or the effort your brain makes in switching from one language to another or to just another dialect. It turns out it’s the same either way and thus potentially equally as beneficial for the brain.

On a personal note, I can switch from academic English back to Bairnese (Falkirk dialect) when I’m with my rellies without being aware on any cost. Are the cost in milliseconds?

Co-researchers found the same thing in Germany with speakers of the Öcher Platt dialect in Aachen.

What are the benefits then? Well it’s a widely held belief that bilinguals have improved cognitive powers and might even be less prone to dementia. However, back in 2014, the same team at Abertay were quite sceptical about this and questioned the research methods used by psychologists to suggest there were benefits. Here’s what they did and what they found:

‘They compared cognitive control in a group of people who switch between speaking the very distinctive Dundonian dialect and Standard Scottish English, with cognitive control in two other groups: those who speak two languages, and those who speak only one. To their great surprise, their research produced some wholly unexpected results, contradicting everything they thought they knew: the bilingual control groups performed no better in the cognitive task than those who spoke only one language and those who spoke in a dialect. There were no differences whatsoever.’

I’m confused. So, one language plus one dialect is as good for your brain as two languages are but the benefits, either way, are probably overrated?

https://www.abertay.ac.uk/discover/news/news-archive/2014/name-26708-en.php

And, maybe it’s even bad for you and for those listening to you! See this from the Dana Foundation in 2012:

‘Having to deal with this persistent linguistic competition can result in language difficulties. For instance, knowing more than one language can cause speakers to name pictures more slowly and can increase tip-of-the-tongue states (where you’re unable to fully conjure a word, but can remember specific details about it, like what letter it starts with). As a result, the constant juggling of two languages creates a need to control how much a person accesses a language at any given time. From a communicative standpoint, this is an important skill— understanding a message in one language can be difficult if your other language always interferes. Likewise, if a bilingual person frequently switches between languages when speaking, it can confuse the listener, especially if that listener knows only one of the speaker’s languages.’

http://dana.org/Cerebrum/2012/The_Cognitive_Benefits_of_Being_Bilingual/

‘Tip-of-the-tongue-states’? That’s me most of the time. Right, that’s it pal! I’m proper fashed noo innit?

(c) whfp.com

Tourism in Scotland has soared this year with massive increases in overall numbers and in spending. The UK has seen an 18% increase in spending by tourists while, in Scotland, it has risen by an impressive 27%. The weak pound has often been given the credit, but I feel sure that the intrinsic experience has been improved, Outlander and other Media phenomena and a sense of safety from terrorism have been big contributors too. See these recent pieces:

‘Scotland enjoys tourism boost thanks to interest in Gaelic’

Tourism spending in Scotland surges ahead of UK figure

Inspired perhaps by the general trend but also, coincidentally, opportune for the alleged increased interest in Gaelic triggered by Outlander, a new marina hub has been completed in Harris. This is the final link in a chain of marine facilities along the coast of the Outer Hebrides. The new Harris facilities will take up to 90 vessels and bring major economic benefits to the area in terms of jobs and spending.

According to the Scottish Business News Network, funding of £220 000 comes from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) toward the total cost of £1.3m project. Toward the end of the report we see:

‘The development is also supported by the Coastal Communities Fund and LEADER, Scottish Government’s Regeneration Fund and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.’

https://sbnn.co.uk/2017/11/01/harris-set-become-marine-tourism-hub/

As always, I had to go elsewhere to find out the SNP-led administration’s contribution to the project. It’s £300 000 out of the £4.3 million to be spent by them on regenerating coastal communities. Projects awarded funding include:

• £300,000 for Dumfries and Galloway Council towards 64 miles of coastal paths at Rhins of Galloway
• £237,500 for British Waterways Board towards a visitor information centre and hub at Fort Augustus
• £258,190 for Dundee Heritage Trust to transform Discovery Point facilities
• £300,000 for Harris Development Ltd to develop two pontoons for small boats, cruise ship tenders, yachts and cruisers
• Nearly £200,000 for Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust for a network of 25 whale watching and heritage sites across the west coast

Also, in the scot.gov report, we see this from the project chair of Harris Development Limited said:

‘The recent award of £300,000 from the Coastal Communities Fund has completed the £1.35 million funding package required to create the Harris Marina Hub, a project which is expected to bring significant economic benefits to the area through the development of marine tourism.’

Then I find this in the West Highland Free Press:

‘A successful application to the Scottish Government Regeneration Capital Grant Fund has secured £600,000 towards the Isle of Harris Marina Hub, a £1.37 million development of pontoons in East Loch Tarbert.’

http://www.whfp.com/2016/03/29/600000-boost-for-harris-marina-development/

Things have clearly changed since the WHFP sacked founding editor, Labour MP and fierce Unionist, Brian Wilson, back in 2015! I know, reader, he’s other things too.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2015/jul/10/founding-editor-fired-as-columnist-by-the-west-highland-free-press

So is that a total of £600 000 or £900 000? Why would the Scottish Business News Network report mention the smaller amount from HIE but not this? Regular readers will know it’s a repeated pattern in several media outlets, of ‘forgetting’ to tell the reader just how big a part Scottish government grants play in a whole range of improvements to Scotland’s housing and infrastructure.

https://news.gov.scot/news/regenerating-coastal-communities

As you know there have been some major developments recently in Scotland’s use of wave power. See these:

Orkney’s giant tidal turbine is the world’s most powerful

As world’s largest tidal energy plant in Pentland Firth generates 1GWh which is enough for 700 000 homes, will Scotland become the most energy-rich country in Europe?

With a hard Brexit looming and the potential loss of EU development funds, a report from Imperial College London has strongly advised Westminster to adopt the Scottish strategy which ‘which shares key findings with the wider sector to learn lessons and avoid making repeated mistakes.’

In response to the report, the senior policy manager at Scottish Renewables, said:

‘While the potential rewards from harnessing energy from our oceans are enormous, the engineering challenge presented by doing so is also substantial. To date, Scotland – and specifically Orkney – is leading the world in the development of wave energy devices. Wave Energy Scotland, set up by the Scottish Government in 2014, has refocused the industry’s efforts on collaborating to optimise technology – a model that’s attracting interest from all around the globe.’

https://www.energyvoice.com/otherenergy/154927/scotland-find-acting-alone-wave-energy-post-brexit/

While remembering that it is important that young mothers do not feel forced to return to work earlier than they would wish, it is equally important that those who wish to return to careers can do so.

There has been a 5% increase, to 70%, over the last six years, of mothers of 5-year-olds in work. 53% of mothers, at all child age points, born in 2010/2011 are in work compared to 48% of those born in 2004/5.

The Minister for Employability and Training said:

‘Clearly there is still more that we can do to ensure no-one is forced to choose between their career or their family responsibilities, and that those looking for work can find work. That is why we have committed to implementing pilot schemes to reduce the burden of upfront childcare costs and we will almost double free early learning and childcare. Our pregnancy and maternity discrimination working group will continue to look at how we can remove any barriers to work, promote the benefits of flexible working and provide information on employment rights to pregnant workers.’

https://news.gov.scot/news/growing-up-in-scotland-1

Flexibility remains the main barrier to mothers returning to work. The Scottish government has called on employers to offer more flexible working opportunities as this has been shown to boost productivity and is good for workers. Hopefully, the new increases in free early learning and childcare will make this more feasible for both workers and employers.

 

Just as it has provided the funds for local authorities to compensate families including those with disabled children for the costs of the bedroom tax, so the Scottish government has provided considerable funds to protect the worst-off against the effects of recent benefit ‘changes.’

The Scottish Welfare Fund comprises Community Care Grants and Crisis Grants. £140 million has been paid in crisis grants, since April 2013, to 265 000 households placed in extreme hardship, unable to pay for food or heating costs, by the UK government’s punitive welfare cuts and chaotic implementation of Universal Credit. 14% of the requests were due to delays in these benefits. Between April and June this year alone, there were more than 42 000 applications, up 11% on the previous year.

In addition, Community Care grants were paid in nearly 16 000 cases, to local authorities, to cover the costs of, mainly, floor coverings, white goods and furniture.

33% of all cases involved families with children.

https://news.gov.scot/news/continued-support-for-low-income-households

The above news is merely the latest account of efforts by the Scottish Government to protect Scotland’s poor from the excesses of Tory austerity. See this from 2016:

The job of protecting Scottish poor from excesses of Tory austerity