Talking-up Scotland

© autogeekonline.net

I hope it’s not personal, homophobic or sexist or whatever but I’ve long thought she does need a bit of rebuffing to reduce her loud, bullish, buffalo-straddling, Boris Johnson-like, persona and tendencies. Ah, reading on, it seems I’ve misunderstood the term rebuffed. Must be my age. Theresa may has rebuffed her. Oooh, an even worse image for my pervy old 70s mind.

Sorry about that. Here’s the real story. Ruth wanted Theresa to drop her immigration target. She even suggested that some immigration was good for the economy and may have seemed to accuse Theresa of ‘easy slogans’. Ooooh, dangerous.

Theresa has rebuffed her. That’s about it. Get back in your box little Scottish leader. I’m the PM remember? They say Ruth is well-liked by ornery English Tories but she’ll need to remember they’re not in charge. Theresa is.

I don’t know about you, but I think we’ve passed peak Ruth. She’s served her purpose and will have little influence in future.

© Peterhead Port Authority

See this from the Scottish Business News Network:

‘Peterhead Port Authority is set to support the start of offshore construction work for the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) after signing an agreement to harbour the game-changing suction bucket jacket foundations for the 11-turbine scheme. The contract will see the port moor one of the world’s largest floating cranes, with a maximum lifting capacity of 5,000 tonnes, and up to six barges that will transport the 11 foundations – the heaviest of which weighs around 1,800 tonnes and is about 77 metres high.’

You have to read down a fair bit to find out that being able to accommodate this kind of work is at least in part due to a recent £5 million Scottish government investment in modernising the port. This wasn’t in the headline but is just another example of the role the Scottish Government is playing in all this economic growth. See for example:

Scotland’s oil and gas expertise earned £11.4 billion in 2015/2016 supported by Scottish Government investment

As Scottish Oil and Gas moves into a third wave of prosperity, Scottish Government funding for innovation is increased

SNP Government takes the initiative to further enhance the competiveness of a recovering but still fragile oil industry

Credit where credit is due but probably not in our mainstream media?

https://sbnn.co.uk/2017/08/10/peterhead-port-awarded-major-offshore-wind-contract/

Gov.scot have just published this today:

‘New figures’ [my quotation marks] showing Scottish university graduates have brighter prospects than their UK counterparts have been welcomed by Higher Education Minister Shirley-Anne Somerville. According to the Higher Educations Statistics Agency (HESA), more than 94% of students who left a Scottish university with a first degree in 2012-13 are in work or further study. This is higher than the UK average. The analysis also shows that three and a half years after graduating, former students of Scottish universities are earning £27,500 – which is also the highest in the UK.’

https://news.gov.scot/news/bright-prospects-for-graduates

I’m a bit puzzled by this release of 2012-13 figures when STV have already published the even better HESA 2015-2-16 data:

Scotland          95.2%

Wales              94.7%

N Ireland         94.4%

England           94.2%

https://stv.tv/news/scotland/1392951-scots-graduates-more-likely-to-find-work-than-rest-of-uk/

Maybe I’m missing something but either way it’s good.

© http://caithness-business.co.uk

The MeyGen project jointly owned by Tidal Power Scotland and Scottish Enterprise has just recorded electricity generation at 1 GWh which is sufficient for 700 000 homes! 700 000! Now we’ve already heard that wind power has several times now produced more than 100% of our total energy needs and that there is enough gas west of Shetland to do the same. It’s beginning to look as if we are going to be so energy rich, we’ll have to export huge amounts to our larger and more energy-starved neighbours like England, Germany and France.

‘Scotland Sets [Another] New Wind Power Record’

Scottish Gas output rises as production begins on a new field that could fuel, by itself, all of post-independence Scotland

I must assume that if Scottish Enterprise co-own the field, some of the revenue comes straight to the Scottish Government? Either way, this level of energy wealth with more to come must make Scotland one of the most energy-rich countries in the world. I haven’t even mentioned the likely resurgence of oil prices by 2020. If this does not enrich our economy it will be because that revenue is diverted to London or not properly taxed and thus stolen by the corporations.

Independence is the only solution to this.

In June 2017, Scottish A&E departments exceeded the 95% target, seeing 95.5% of patients within the 4-hour target. In July, it was 95.3%.

https://news.gov.scot/news/aes-hit-target

Direct comparisons with England are not straightforward but regardless, suggest significantly inferior performance during this period of Tory administration. In England A&E results are split into two types:

Type 1:  Emergency departments are a Consultant-led 24-hour service with full resuscitation facilities and designated accommodation for the reception of accident and emergency patients. 

Type 2: Consultant-led mono specialty accident and emergency service (e.g. ophthalmology, dental) with designated accommodation for the reception of patients.

Now the figures for June and July were:

Type 1:            86.1%             85.5%

All                    90.7%              90.3%

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2017-18/

Now, I feel sure all Scottish A&E departments recorded for the statistics are pretty much the same as Type 1 in England, with full resuscitation facilities, and that Type 2 is not really A&E in our terms. Surely the word ‘emergency’ implies full resuscitation will be available? The inclusion of Type 2 data serves only to improve the appearance of the overall figures. So, the Scottish system is probably performing a staggering 10% better than the English one.

I look forward to Ruth Davidson congratulating the SNP administration on their good management of NHS Scotland.

Do correct me if I have misunderstood anything here.

© bizspace.co.uk

It’s just one more piece of evidence that the Scottish economy is on a fairly steep upward curve. As unemployment falls and business confidence rises (see previous reports here) the demand for office space and for staff have soared. See:

‘Staggering’ 175% increase in Edinburgh office take-up is further evidence of booming Scottish economy

Scotland outpaces England in job growth

Not surprisingly the demand for office space and for staff correlates with an increased demand for industrial space. See this from the Scottish Business News Network yesterday:

‘The commercial property firm [Colliers] found that prices for prime industrial space rose on average 7.7% in the 12 months to July 2017, compared to a rise of 2.3% in the UK as a whole, to the current Scotland average of £7.59 per square foot (psf). Current UK average is £8.68 psf. Colliers believes that demand for industrial units is being driven by two key factors: the growth of online shopping and therefore delivery and distribution centres; and the recovery in manufacturing which is now accelerating due to the weak pound. Glowacz said that firms that need large units are likely to build their own or have them ‘built to suit’.

No doubt this could be cast as a problem by Unionist politicians and media but I think most entrepreneurs would see it as an opportunity to be exploited. Falling rents would mean a recession surely, Kezia, Ruth?

https://sbnn.co.uk/2017/08/09/rents-jump-scotland-runs-industrial-space/

I managed to find some comparative [Scotland/England] data to add to my recent report:

Good news for the Scottish economy again! Big rise in permanent jobs and starting salaries climb in Scotland

in:

‘Glass half full or half empty? The Markit July figures are looking healthy.’

https://www.peacerecruitment.co.uk/article/122/?utm_content=buffer4b38d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

The author, Chris Peace, is clearly better than I am at finding such information from the Markit report. The comparative figures, where 50 would mean no change are:

Permanent Jobs           Temporary Jobs

Scotland          66.2                             70

England           62.5                             62.7

I have to admit that I don’t know just how significant those differences are but they’re in the right direction for the Scottish economy and presumably further evidence of good government. They’re clearly not percentages. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:

‘Formula, calculation, and reading

PMI data are presented in the form of a diffusion index, which is calculated as follows:

P M I = ( P 1 ∗ 1 ) + ( P 2 ∗ 0.5 ) + ( P 3 ∗ 0 )

where:

• P₁ = Percentage number of answers that reported an improvement.
• P₂ = Percentage number of answers that reported no change.
• P₃ = Percentage number of answers that reported a deterioration.

Thus, if 100% of the panel reported an improvement, the index would be 100.0. If 100% reported a deterioration, the index would be zero. If 100% of the panel saw no change, the index would be 50.0 (P₂ * 0.5).

Therefore, an index reading of 50.0 means that the variable is unchanged, a number over 50.0 indicates an improvement, while anything below 50.0 suggests a decline. An index of 50.0 would arise if either all respondents reported no change or the number of respondents reporting an improvement was matched by the number of respondents reporting a deterioration. The further away from 50.0 the index is, the stronger the change over the month, e.g. a reading of 55.0 points to a more frequently reported increase in a variable than a reading of 52.5.^[1] The degree of confidence experienced by respondents reporting an improvement and the degree of concern experienced by respondents reporting a deterioration are not factored into the index.’

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_Managers%27_Index

There you go. That’s that cleared up, I think. Does that mean that if the range is only from 50 to 100 that the gaps between the Scottish and English figures are actually twice as big as they would be if they had been percentages based on a 0 to 100 scale?

I could be all at sea here. Readers good at maths; are you out there?

© (ABC: Sophie Kesteven)

I have been cycling when I can and I used to cycle to the campus most days so I’m all for this chain of thought but I’m sticking with my two wheels. Here’s the gist of the Scottish Government scheme to get older folk rolling:

‘The Cycling Without Age movement began in Denmark and encourages volunteers to take older people for bike rides, using comfortable and safe trishaws. More than twenty million people have watched a film featuring Falkirk’s Cycling Without Age project since it was posted online as part of BBC Three’s Amazing Humans series.   A pilot project running in Falkirk is currently benefitting from £36,000 from the Scottish Government and the European Social Fund. However Social Security Minister Jeane Freeman has today confirmed additional support for similar projects across Scotland.’

I’ve yet to see such a thing in Ayr but I look forward to it. It reminds me that our former principal at UWs was a Rick Shaw!

https://news.gov.scot/news/nationwide-rollout-of-cycling-without-age

Footnote: Typical Falkirk weather.

I had no idea. More than 2% of the population attended Scottish Premiership games at the weekend. Only Iceland comes near at 1.5% of the population. The big leagues in Spain, Germany and England look well-attended but that’s just the games we see on TV. As for the Italian league, the stadia often look less than half-full.

I know, you’ll say there are huge differences between the attendance at Celtic and say Saint Johnstone but there are similar gaps in other countries too with a handful of big clubs and lots of wee strugglers.

There were 110 000 supporters at the weekend, 25 000 more than last season. The return of Hibs to the top flight will, of course, have been a factor. It’s not just this season either. Attendances for last season were up 12% on the previous to a record £4.2 million.

This continues the trend of last season when total fans attending SPFL league games including play-offs rose by 12% to more than 4.2million. There will also be more TV income this year after the SPFL deal with Chinese internet broadcaster Tencent Sports.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/scottish-premiership-clubs-smash-opening-10952106

© http://tva-ekar-gard.org

There are currently over half a million acres owned and run by 494 community groups. Based on the Scottish Government’s land reform measures which I know some of us would like to have seen go further [see graphic above], it’s still an impressive achievement and there is confidence the target can be reached.

Nearly 500 community groups in Scotland own their own land mainly as a result of new land reform policies introduced by the Scottish Government and supported by a £10 million Scottish Land Fund last year.

The approach to land reform has included an extension of the £10 million Scottish Land Fund last year beyond rural communities to support urban communities interested in buying their own land.

Highlands and Islands MSP, Maree Todd, said:

‘People are well and truly at the heart of the SNP’s land reform efforts that enable communities to thrive and make decisions about places that would often otherwise be lying derelict – and this is at the very heart of our community empowerment strategy that is aiming to make Scotland a more prosperous and fairer place to live.’

Good start but let’s see a more radical approach?

http://www.scottishfinancialnews.com/13963/500-scottish-communities-now-benefiting-from-land-reforms/