Talking-up Scotland

(c) edfenergy.com

In the latest auction with the UK government, offshore wind energy developers offered prices as low as £57.50 per megawatt hour (MWh). Hinkley Point C (Costly?) was guaranteed £92.50 MWh but this is inflation-linked as is already closer to £100/MWh. This guarantee also stands for 35 years. A very bad deal indeed for the UK consumer but not for us given that we must surely break away long before 35 years have passed.

In 2015, offshore wind power schemes required subsidies resulting in costs of around £117/MWh. This is dramatic evidence of the rapid development of the technology including larger more powerful turbines and now puts wind power way ahead of all other energy production methods in terms of cost to the consumer as well as to the environment. Keep in mind also, these are still early days for renewable technologies compared to competing technologies such as nuclear which can only become more expensive as safety fears intensify.
https://www.ft.com/content/7401f5e0-96c0-11e7-a652-cde3f882dd7b

The International Energy Agency has forecast the strongest demand growth in two years as OPEC discusses prolonging its cuts well into 2018. In London, oil sales for November settled at $54.29 per barrel. This is well within the serious profitability range for North Sea oil:

Re-post: A ploy to undermine the case for Scottish independence as Oil companies making more at $50 per barrel than they did at £100 per barrel yet the UK Government is not taxing them.

OPEC increased its estimates for demand based on rising demand in Europe and China to 32.8 million barrels per day. Scottish oil is already feeding this demand and revenues are flooding unfortunately into London:

China increases imports of Scottish oil from 8 to 38 million barrels in only 4 months

I know many of you are not too enthusiastic about oil extraction and favour green solutions but my purpose is to make sure no Unionist can ever tell us Scotland’s oil revenue is finished.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-12/opec-is-said-to-discuss-extending-oil-cuts-by-more-than-3-months

In Scotland, homeless applications in 2015/2016, were down 4% on the previous year. There was a fall in 22 out of Scotland’s 32 local authorities. It’s thought that the continuing fall in homelessness, during the period of SNP administrations, is mainly due to the introduction of the Housing Options service in Scottish local authorities with an emphasis on prevention and the abolishment of the Priority Need Test in Scotland. The underlying drivers of homelessness such as UK Government welfare reforms remain the same and make the above fall something of an achievement. It is, of course, still wholly unsatisfactory that here should be any homelessness in this country.

In England, in sharp contrast, homelessness is on the rise from 11% in 2009/2010 to 32% in 2016/2017. According to a report from the National Audit Office (NAO), reported strangely in Scottish Housing News, households in temporary accommodation in March 2017, were 73% up on 2011. The NAO attribute this in the main to [Tory] welfare reforms. Homelessness has increased every year since 2010 with steep increase in rough sleeping and families living in temporary accommodation. English Ministers are accused by the NAO of being slow to understand the problem. I suspect that’s far too understanding of the NAO. Do they really think Tory minsters give a?

http://www.scottishhousingnews.com/17234/england-rise-in-homelessness-likely-to-have-been-driven-by-welfare-reforms/

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/RefTables/Homelessness201516

photo by Terry Cavner

According to the Oil and Gas Production Statistics 2016-17, the approximate sales value increased by 15.2%. Production accounted for 82% of the UK total. The Scottish Government’s Energy Task Force has surely played some part in this. See this from the minister:

‘The Scottish Government will continue to do everything within our powers to support the industry and its workforce, while calling on the UK Government to improve the fiscal and regulatory regime to encourage on-going investment to support jobs and export led growth.’

As expected, this confirms the one-of nature of 2015/2016 when the North Sea allegedly made a loss though, of course, this was more a consequence of the UK government’s failure to tax the producers. See this:

Re-post: A ploy to undermine the case for Scottish independence as Oil companies making more at $50 per barrel than they did at £100 per barrel yet the UK Government is not taxing them.

 

https://news.gov.scot/news/oil-and-gas-production-rises

Ever since it became clear that there was no recession coming for Scotland and that the Scottish economy is growing 4 times faster than the UK, indicators of good economic health have become a flood. Today we hear from a Manpower Group outlook survey that: ‘Hiring confidence in Scotland has doubled amongst employers’. These results echo a whole range of other evidence:

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?

Unemployment at record low, employment up, economy growing, youth unemployment amongst lowest in Europe, business confidence increasing, oil jobs returning, health indicators improving to world’s best: That’ll be Norway? No? Scotland!? SNP baaaad!

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

Good News: SNP Scottish Government to invest an additional £15.6 million for extra superfast broadband coverage, for homes and to boost business.

Fighting Tory austerity again, the SNP Government steps in to help 100 000 small businesses, district heating schemes and small-scale hydro schemes.

These are just the most recent of many other reports of a similar nature. You’ll notice the SNP government doing its bit. I know government doesn’t create all this by itself but it creates the conditions in which economies flourish. If we had a recession, the SNP would surely have got the blame so they deserve at least some of the credit now.

http://www.insider.co.uk/news/rising-demand-skilled-staff-across-11150694

Footnote: Will this Ruth tag boost my readership? It did once before [9 707!] then people clearly began to see through my cheap ploy.

See this from the Royal College of Midwives news release two days ago:

‘New research published today (11 September) reveals NHS [ENGLAND!] maternity units are more likely to close (due to staff shortages) at the end of the week and during holiday periods due to staff availability and more complex births. According to the findings by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), closures are more likely on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays than they are on Mondays to Wednesdays. The research also revealed that 50% more closures occurred in June compared to January, even though the number of births is roughly the same.’

You’ll see there the usual tendency among reporters and the RCM itself to forget that there are 4 NHS systems in the UK and that they need to be precise in their language. The full report does make it clear: ‘Under pressure? NHS maternity services in England’ (link below).

I searched and searched for any evidence of weekend closures in Scottish maternity units, due to staff shortages and could find no mention anywhere. It was probably a waste of time because I feel sure that BBC Scotland’s team of research assistants will have been on the job and if they’d found a sniff of a weekend closure in Scotland, it would have been all over the news and picked up by all the Unionist media. So, I have to assume this is more evidence of crises in NHS England and ongoing strong performance in NHS Scotland but then we knew that already from these earlier reports:

‘NHS across UK has much to learn from Scotland?’ The King’s Fund told us this in 2013!

Record NHS Scotland workforce announced as NHS England struggles with far worse levels

https://www.rcm.org.uk/news-views-and-analysis/news/maternity-unit-closures-more-likely-at-the-end-of-the-week

https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/9715

SNP fail again to create a crisis in Scottish hospitals?

(c) sundaypost.com

Researchers at the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research at the University of Stirling have finally reported on their research looking at how the 2014 independence referendum changed the way we think about Scottish politics. They concluded in positive terms that a reinvigorated public sphere had emerged and that:

‘Certainly, there appeared to be the opening of a space in which to consider and reconsider notions of justice based on the reimagining of a different Scotland. For many, the increased political participation was seen as a chance to recreate society, dismantle or redraw boundaries; make politics more relevant and connected to notions of justice in the minds of citizens.’

http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/news-events/news/how-did-the-indyref-influence-thinking-on-social-justice-in-scotland/

I can’t seem to access the full report to tell you more so, in all modesty, here’s a quote from my own free online book:

‘It is impossible to have visited Scotland in recent days (September 2014) and not to have been exhilarated by the sheer vigour of democratic engagement. Scotland at the moment is what a democracy is supposed to be: a buzzing hive of argument and involvement, most

of it civil, respectful and deeply intelligent. This energy has been unleashed not by atavistic tribal passions but by a simple realisation: for once, the people have some power.’

(O’Toole, 2014)

I know, David Torrential didn’t see it that way

You can get my book at:

Scotland’s Propaganda War: The Media and the 2014 Independence Referendum

 

According to a September 2017 report from the NatCen Social Research Centre for Woman’s Hour, East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire are the best places in the UK for women to live in terms of a range of these quality of life indicators:

1. Income
2. Housing affordability
3. Personal wellbeing
4. Safety
5. Education
6. Life expectancy
7. Environment
8. Culture
   

Here is the table for all women:

Best

1. East Dunbartonshire
2. East Renfrewshire
3. West Oxfordshire

Worst

1. Islington London
2. Blackpool North West
3. Corby East Midlands

Regrettably, quality of life for women in many parts of the Scottish west, in particular, are no better than in many of the denser urban areas in England. The report does not enable an averaged comparison of Scotland with England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

It’s worth also noting that with regard to culture, that these two areas benefit from proximity to Glasgow rather than, I feel sure, providing the cultural experiences themselves.

https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/bbc-radio-4-womans-hour-best-place-analysis.pdf

Afterthought: See this from 2016:

‘Those living in Scotland have the best quality of life in the UK, according to a new survey measuring the factors that shape Briton’s lives. According to the Social Progress Index, which assesses health, safety, access to education and individual rights, England was behind both Scotland and Northern Ireland when it came to quality of life, ahead only of Wales.’

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/scotland-quality-of-life-table-rankings-best-in-uk-a7355016.html

 

(c) sanctuary-housing.co.uk

7 231 new affordable homes were built in Scotland in 2016/2017, 3% up on 2015/2016. As always, statistics for England are not yet out. However, we can still compare the 2015/2016 figures.

In 2015/2016, the Scottish Government built 7 021 new affordable homes. That’s 1 for every 755 people.

In the same year in England 32 110 new affordable homes were built in England. That’s one for every 1 650 people.

These figures give a ratio of 2.18 so the Scottish Government was building at more than twice the rate in 2015/2016 and has increased building by 3% for this last year.

However, the situation in England, especially in the South-East may be even worse than the above figures suggest. The UK Government definition of affordable is that affordable homes should cost no more than 80% of the average local market rent. The average rent in South-East England is currently £2344 per month. The average rent in Glasgow is £696 per month.

Housing charity Shelter says affordable housing should cost no more than 35% of your household income after tax and benefits.

https://www.foxtons.co.uk/living-in/south-east-england/rentals/

http://www.scottishhousingnews.com/12278/average-private-rents-up-in-most-areas-across-scotland/

https://news.gov.scot/news/3-increase-in-housing-supply

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/569979/Affordable_Housing_Supply_2015-16.pdf

There is now so much evidence that the Scottish economy is growing as the UK hovers just above recession levels. With lower unemployment, greater demand for new staff and rising wages, increased demand for office and industrial space and several other factors reported earlier here, increased traffic through these airports merely reinforces the case for optimism.

Edinburgh had an 11.4% increase in international visitors over August last year with more than 1.4 million passing through in both July and August.

Aberdeen had a 5.9% overall increase in fixed-wing traffic compared with August 2016.

https://sbnn.co.uk/2017/09/12/international-visitors-take-edinburgh-airport-august-passenger-numbers-1-4m/

https://sbnn.co.uk/2017/09/11/passenger-numbers-continue-increase-aberdeen-international-airport/