In its campaign supporting right-wing groups (above), the Scotsman offers:
Paradoxically, more than five years ago McQuillan had this unfounded, daft, warning for any marginal Yes-voters, against right-wing groups.
I won’t be paying to read either of these.
(Image: Euan McCall/Ayrshire Post)
The EU threshold target is the strangely precise 95.24% of farmers to get their benefit payments before 30th June [‘EU satsumas forcing difficult numbers on Scots civil servants! PC (percentage counting) gone mad!’]. As you can see from this parliamentary question and on answer on Wednesday 3rd July, 95.4% were met overall on time and, within the scheme, some targets were met nearly in 97% of cases.
Yesterday as England reeled under the media exposure of a widespread sepsis scandal, Reporting Scotland, denied their own sepsis crisis, resorted once again to attempting to turn a single incident into something greater, something worse.
There is no wider phenomenon reported here. No campaign by multiple sufferers. No letter signed by twenty medics. It’s just one tragic case filling a, for them, tragic gap in their broadcast. The report lingers sadly and morbidly on faces. It does not even remotely fulfil the state broadcaster’s remit to inform or to educate. It does not satisfy their own editorial guideline to avoid reliance on single sources. It’s bad journalism and it’s a trend, a trend worth reporting:
In May 2019, we heard of how a change in the law of the age of criminal responsibility had allegedly hurt the family of a victim killed 30 years before, the only killing by a child in Scottish history. Only a cousin was available to speak. We did not hear, as we should, just how rare a killing by someone under 12 is and thus how little use it could be in framing legislation. Children under 12 do not kill but they do commit lesser crimes and currently find themselves scarred by that for the rest of their lives. Why did the report not consider the multitude of cases where the legislation will be a boon rather than scrabbling in the mud and gore, desperately to find the only case of murder by a child they can find to shock and upset us to no purposeful end?
In October 2018, another single death was lingered over as the relatives sobbed and was used to suggest a wider problem not apparent from any statistics. It was an awful, tragic, case. The parent’s anger and despair was understandable, but is it, on its own, news of the kind a public service broadcaster should headline and dwell on at some length? Leaving aside the fact that the case had still not yet been confirmed as suicide by a Fatal Accident Inquiry, the BBC Scotland report had time for the parents and other non-professionals to talk at length and to suggest that despite this being a single case, based entirely on comments made to the parents, by the victim and without any contextual evidence, the problem was systemic.
On September 26th 2018, Reporting Scotland fell further into the foul-smelling mire than even the Sun or the Daily Mail might go, with the story of the decapitation of a baby in childbirth. I found it hard to consider just typing that phrase but to want to dwell on it, to savour it and to exploit the grief-stricken mother, in the pretense that this is all about the rights of that mother, is nauseating. Of course, the case should be pursued with the authorities and, if necessary, with the support of politicians but to dramatise it in this way for public titillation, is beyond belief. Deaths in childbirth are, of course, falling and at an all-time low in Scotland so single case did not represent any wider informative trend.
Finally, though I could go back further, on September 12th 2018, at 06:27 and then 5 more times that morning, BBC Scotland headlined: ‘A woman who was sexually abused as a child [21 years ago] has criticised police and others for failing to stop a man abusing generations of girls.’ It was the lead story on the website too. There wasn’t enough evidence at the time, 21 years ago, so who fed BBC Scotland with this story and why, crucially, given the lack of evidence of any wider trend or problem, was it newsworthy?
Enough?
As we read rumours of an internal Con poll showing Yes support at 57%, from YouGov today based on 138 adults with fieldwork on 2nd and 3rd July:
This seems to confirm SNP support in two recent polls.
In the Ipsos-MORI sub-poll of 133 adults, on 21st to 25th June 2019, with 5% not intending to vote:
https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2019-06/pm_-_tables_-_270619.pdf
From YouGov with a sub-poll of 177 adults, on 24th to 25th June 2019:
(Image: Yinjia Pan)
From Ludo Thierry
From news.gov.scot the other day – link and snippets below: (Scottish Govt – Working assiduously to win friends abroad and improve trade – using trade and diplomacy and good relations to better influence our friends abroad):
https://news.gov.scot/news/promoting-scotland-china-relations
Latest overall export figures show exports from Scotland to China were worth £625 million in 2017 – rising from £590 million in 2016.
Food and drink exports to China were worth £130 million in 2018 – an increase of 10% since 2017 and up 177% since 2007. This includes growing demand for exports of Scotch Whisky to China which were worth £76 million in 2018. Last week, whisky distillers Gordon & MacPhail announced they are releasing a 70 year old malt exclusively for the Chinese market through distributor Spirit Empire.
From beeb today – link and snippets below: (Westminster govt dreaming it remains a colonial ‘power’. Benefits of the Union, anyone?)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48855643
China has warned the UK not to “interfere in its domestic affairs” amid a growing diplomatic row over the recent protests in Hong Kong.
Its UK ambassador said relations had been “damaged” by comments by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt …. The ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office (FCO) later.
From Zero Waste Scotland today:
Findings from the Scottish anaerobic digestion (AD) and biogas sector survey 2017, as well as the Scottish composting sector survey 2017, show a significant rise in the amount of recycled food waste. Approximately 158,500 tonnes of household and commercial solid food waste was collected in 2017, compared with the 2013 figure of 111,500 tonnes. People and businesses are increasingly doing their bit to help the planet as the additional increase in food waste sent for recycling (47,000 tonnes) has prevented the release of 41,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent being released into the atmosphere, as it has been saved from the general waste bin. The figure is the equivalent of taking 22,004 cars off the road in the UK for a year or driving around the world 5829 times. Producing electricity, heat and gas from food waste through AD allows us to capture the energy stored in our food that would otherwise be sent to landfill or incinerated. Using this waste helps to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
Cancer Research UK has produced a report suggesting that obesity is causing more cases of cancers than smoking dose. The report is all over UK and Scottish media, but the Scottish figures are only estimates based on a simple proportion of the UK figures which ignore recent per-reviewed research suggesting that the obesity problem in Scotland is being reduced by Scottish Government action and this in turn casts doubt on their conclusions about cancer here.
TWO studies not based on mere estimates suggest very strongly that the prospects are different in Scotland:
First, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, reported in the Independent on 26th May 2018:
‘Under current trends it is predicted that 11 per cent of the population in Wales will be morbidly obese in 2035, roughly 340,000 adults, while Scotland is likely to plateau at about 5 per cent and England will rise to about 8 per cent.’
The researchers offer a surprisingly clear, confident and simple explanation for the significantly slower growth in Scotland – Scottish Government policy initiatives and resource allocation:
‘The government put a massive push on developing a route map for how we can actually combat this. They put together resources from the NHS that were proving to be effective. They did put a lot of work into it.’
Second, From Growing Up in Scotland: Overweight and Obesity at Age 10:
‘Historic data from the survey shows that the prevalence of overweight [in Scotland] including obesity remained relatively stable between 1998 and 2016, fluctuating between 28% and 33%. However, in recent years levels of obesity have shown a steady decline dropping from 17% in 2014. This is largely due to a decline in obesity amongst boys which have dropped from 20% in 2012 to 12% in 2017 [40%].’
‘The results are broadly comparable with similar UK research. For example, analysis of data from the Millennium Cohort Study showed that the proportion of healthy, overweight and obese 5-year olds becoming or remaining obese by age 11 were 6%, 32% and 68% respectively (Mead et al, 2016). Comparative figures from analysis of administrative data from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP)13 in England were 8%, 43% and 77% (Copley et al, 2017).’
So, compared to England, 25% fewer healthy 5-year-olds becoming obese by 11 in Scotland. Similarly, 25% fewer overweight 5-year-olds becoming obese and 12% fewer obese 5-year-olds remaining obese.
This study also attributes credit to Scottish Government policy initiatives:
‘Food available in and around schools has also been a focus of policy aimed at improving children’s diets. Legislation requiring local authorities to ensure schools provide food and drink of an appropriate nutritional standard has been in place since 2007 with accompanying guidance’
‘Progress towards achieving the goal of a more active population has been made through a range of activities in recent years including the implementation of the National Walking Strategy (Scottish Government, 2014c), the Cycling Action Plan (Scottish Government, 2017b), the Active Schools programme8, Community Sports Hubs9 and the Legacy 2014 Physical Activity Fund. Of particular relevance for children and young people is the Scottish Government’s commitment to expanding the Daily Mile11 to ensure that Scotland becomes the first ‘Daily Mile nation’ with roll out to nurseries, schools, colleges, universities and workplaces. Recent research results suggest the Daily Mile is effective at increasing levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), reducing sedentary time, increasing physical fitness and improving body composition.’
https://www.gov.scot/publications/growing-up-scotland-overweight-obesity-age-10/
Though constrained by Tory austerity policies, SNP government initiatives seem to be having some effect on reducing teenage pregnancies, one of the clearest indicators of wider social problems. In particular, there is good news on the gap between the most and least deprived areas:
The absolute gap in teenage pregnancy rates between the most and least deprived areas is narrowing. While rates have reduced across all levels of deprivation in recent years, rates in the most deprived areas have fallen more.
https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/teenage-births
The rate of teenage pregnancies correlates strongly with levels of inequality and, based on the above 2009 figures for the UK, the Scottish level has been falling fast from around 55 per 100 000, under Labour and well above the UK rate, to around the UK rate and moving below it by 2019.
While multiple factors will explain this trend, the Scottish Government can reasonably claim some credit. See:
For six successive months now, the number of operations cancelled due to a lack of resources or of staff has been falling steadily to reach 1.7% from a total of 29 635 operations in total in the last month alone.
This is frankly an astonishing achievement. For any system of this scale to returning 98.3% completions suggests the highest of performance standards. 100% of this number being supplied with staff and facilities would require considerable over-supply to meet the uncontrollable surging of demand, varying across regions and the unpredictable nature of staff illness or departures.
I wonder, how is the rest of the UK coping? More or less than 1.7%?
One in seven is 14%!
On the same day that SNP Government funding of £350 000 to support providers of meals over the school holiday period was announced and days after the SNP government brought in a special child payment, not available in Tory England, BBC Scotland went with the above headline and an extended piece, exploiting the natural tendency of charities to always want more to be done, to generate cheap material for their ‘Scotland in crisis’ agenda.
Try finding a similar story about the rest of the UK. I found one for Plymouth only, in August 2018.
Talking-up Scotland 