Talking-up Scotland

As NHS Scotland’s standards of care continues to exceed those of NHS England, the Scottish Government does not rest

See this from February 2017:

‘Out of all the four nations, hospitals in Scotland seem [seem?] to have fared the best.

Weekly data shows four-hour performance in major units hovering around the 90% mark during January.

Much of the credit has been given to the way councils and the health services are working together.

Budgets have been pooled, encouraging a close working relationship to help get frail patients out of hospital by providing extra rehabilitation services in the community.’

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38853700

Even the BBC did not dare completely hide the report completely although I’m not sure it made it past the website. However, there’s clearly going to be no resting on laurels. The Scottish Government has just announced a set of Health and Care Standards to formalise the human rights in this respect for Scottish citizens. Here’s an extract from the statement:

‘The standards, ….are focused on improving people’s experience of care and are based on five outcomes:

• I experience high quality care and support that is right for me.
• I am fully involved in all decisions about my care and support.
• I have confidence in the people who support and care for me.
• I have confidence in the organisation providing my care and support.
• I experience a high quality environment if the organisation provides the premises.

They are also underpinned by five principles: dignity and respect; compassion; be included; responsive care and support and wellbeing; which reflect the way that everyone should expect to be treated.’

NHS England has a set of standards too. See:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nhs-constitution-for-england/the-nhs-constitution-for-england

You clearly need to do something about them as well as just have them.

https://news.gov.scot/news/new-health-and-social-care-standards-1

(c) http://reportingthereferendum.blogspot.co.uk

I’ve already suggested that the Tories are more focused on saving the London financial sector and UK car manufacturing exports than any other element in the UK economy. In particular the UK government Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Andrea Leadsom, will offer no guarantee that they will not trade away our Economic Exclusion Zone or EEZ as part of the Brexit negotiations despite repeated requests from the Scottish Government. See this explanation

‘An exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is a sea zone prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea over which a state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind.’

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclusive_economic_zone

It’s one of the few bargaining chips the UK government has in its weak ‘hand’ and it seems increasingly likely they will give away permanent access to Scottish waters for EU fishing fleets and offshore wind companies. The latter can simply cable the power generated in Scottish waters to other neighbouring countries.

Notably, according to Fishing News:

‘The very first speech the PM made about Brexit this year specifically referred to Spanish fishermen – look at the wording of it, she didn’t mention Scottish fishermen, she didn’t even mention English fishermen.’

Also in the report, Fergus Ewing, pointed out the ambiguity in the Conservative manifesto on this:

‘It’s a matter of incontrovertible certainty that ambiguity in a manifesto is deliberate not accidental, and therefore I think there’s a real risk that those fishermen who strongly wish to see more control over our waters, something we have always shared, are being conned by a government that has no intention of doing what the fishermen believe will happen.’

http://fishingnews.co.uk/news/minister-scots-landings-figures-reflect-industrys-hard-work/

(c) scotrenewables

I’ve already reported on the great success of Orkney’s tidal turbine. It has now broken a new record. See this from the opusenergyblog:

‘A floating tidal turbine has smashed generation records in Scotland, matching the generation capacity of offshore wind turbines. The SR2000, designed by Scotrenewables Tidal Power, is the world’s largest and most powerful tidal device. The machine is currently undergoing grid-connected testing, which saw it generate 18 MWh over a 24-hour period. This represents a serious step forward for tidal energy, which could soon become a viable renewable technology.’

Floating tidal turbines have huge potential especially in Scotland’s turbulent water. Here’s a list of the advantages of tidal power from TheNextGalaxy:

1. A Very Predictable Energy Source: Ever since the beginning of time itself, the oceans have had tides. Massive amounts of water move in extremely predictable patterns. This makes it very easy to harness the energy that these tides can generate, because we can predict their movements as far as years ahead.
2. An Inexhaustible Source of Energy: There will be no shortage of tides anytime soon. They are controlled by the gravitational pull between the earth, sun, and moon. This means that as long as the earth is being orbited by the moon, the tides will continue to be there producing energy.
3. Very Low Costs To Operate: Once the initial constructions costs are done, there are very few additional costs to keep the tidal energy plant up and running. Little maintenance is required, and minimal personnel as well.
4. Effective Even at Low Speeds: Since water is much denser than air, the amount of movement needed to generate power is very low. It has been proven that tidal energy can still be harnessed even if the water is only moving at 3 feet per second.
5. Can Last Forever: Okay, maybe not literally forever, but a very long time! Tidal energy plants are very simple, and made of durable and simple materials that can withstand the time very well.
6. Completely Green: There are no carbon emissions from tidal energy plants, making it an energy source that does not negatively affect the global environment.

Although the Orkney machine was designed for the fast tidal flows you get there it can be calibrated for more gentle flows and still be productive. However, the Orkneys are particularly suitable to generate power for local communities or the national grid. According to the blog there are another thirty comparable areas in Scotland.

http://www.opusenergyblog.com/floating-tidal-turbine-off-orkney-islands-breaks-generation-records/

As of March 2017, 139 430 staff work in NHS Scotland. That’s up more than 12 300 under this administration. The population of Scotland is 5.3 million so that’s a ratio of 1 to 38.

https://news.gov.scot/news/record-nhs-workforce

NHS England has just announced:

‘In December 2016, across Hospital and Community Healthcare Services (HCHS), the NHS employed (full-time equivalent): 106,021 doctors; 285,173 qualified nursing staff and health visitors; 21,604 midwives; 131,791 qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff; 19,392 qualified ambulance staff; 20,858 managers; and 9,866 senior managers. In September 2016, across general practice, there were (full-time equivalent): 33,804 GPs (excluding locums); 15,827 nurses in GP practices; 10,009 GP direct patient care staff; and 65,334 admin/non-clinical staff.’

That makes a total of 719 673 staff. The population of England is 53.01 million so that’s a ratio of 1 to 73. I may have missed something here but I can’t see what it is.

http://www.nhsconfed.org/resources/key-statistics-on-the-nhs

Further, NHS England figures may not be trustworthy. See this from the Guardian:

‘NHS [England] has 70,000 fewer staff, new figures reveal. Official numbers of doctors, nurses and midwives were inflated, latest figures show.  The NHS has a chronic shortage of staff, according to new figures’

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/02/nhs-staffing-crisis-70000-go-missing

(c) bbc.co.uk

YouGov’s daily constituency-by-constituency estimate has this

Tories              304

Labour             266

SNP                  46

LibDems          12

A bare and not very workable majority requires 323. The last Survation poll had it even closer at only Labour only 1% behind which would narrow the gap further. Either way, those perennial coalitioners the Lib Dems would be too few to matter so the SNP would hold the balance.

While the ‘poll of polls’ for the last week has the Tories clear this does not take account of their catastrophic decline, even amongst the elderly, in the last few days, nor the Jezza surge.

So, the Tories try to run a minority government and get voted down on their first vote of no confidence. They daren’t call another election knowing that would further alienate the electorate, give Labour more time and maybe produce a clear overall Labour majority. The second party, Labour, have a go and the SNP back their progressive policies. As we proceed, the SNP leadership talk to the Labour leadership and negotiations get underway to ensure a soft Brexit and to further devolve powers to Scotland. Jeremy is not against this and Kezia will be either gone or told to STFU!

The above prediction of only 46 for the SNP is pessimistic to my mind but it doesn’t really matter that much if they hold the balance confidently and clearly.

(c) rgu.ac.uk

I’ve posted more than twenty pieces on the resurgence of wealth generation in the North Sea and west of Shetland. These two provide evidence of massive increases in tax revenue after one year of losses (2016):

‘North Sea oil output boost on horizon’ according to Reuters, only three months after we spotted it

Estimates of Scotland’s oil reserves West of Shetland now massively increased to around 8 billion barrels! ‘A super-resource now on the cards.’

You may have read of increases in US shale oil production holding prices down and generating scare stories in the media but this is temporary and the mid to longer-term prospects for fracking are poor. See:

The Scottish Third Wave of Oil Productivity is built on solid foundations but those of the Shale Oil Industry are built on sand and on sand that is disappearing fast

Expert Opinion on Fracking Health Risks from New York Medical Professionals

So, it’s reassuring to see that the Scottish Government has invested wisely, putting in £15.9 million and exceeding its original commitment of £10 million. This money has supported 82 companies, 111 projects and produced a combined investment in innovation of £43 million. The First Minister said:

‘This investment by Scottish Enterprise highlights that Scotland is continuing to lead the way in making oil and gas one of this country’s great success stories. Innovation is absolutely crucial to the sector for maximising economic recovery, reducing costs without compromising safety, and for enabling our supply chain to continue to win new business overseas. Ultimately, it is key to ensuring the sustainability of the North Sea oil and gas industry for the future.’

https://sbnn.co.uk/2017/06/06/oil-gas-innovation-spend-trebles-43m/

The dark money driving the Scottish Tory surge

There have already been several signs that expertise gained in the North Sea is enabling Scottish companies to raise income globally:

There have already been several signs that expertise gained in the North Sea is enabling Scottish companies to raise income globally:

Once more Scottish energy expertise can be highly significant

Scotland’s expertise in oil extraction leads to opportunities far beyond the North Sea

To be fair this one’s still in the North Sea but the English bit of it. See this:

‘Jee Ltd, a leading subsea engineering and training firm, has just completed a contract with Technip Offshore Wind Ltd for the provision of subsea power cable installation engineering on a new and innovative offshore wind farm project. The project, Gunfleet Sands 3, is located eight miles off the coast of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, and is the latest offshore wind farm development from Danish firm, DONG Energy.’

Jee will also soon be applying their expertise in the German sector of the North Sea.

https://sbnn.co.uk/2013/04/29/jee-reduces-the-cost-and-risk-of-cable-installation-on-offshore-wind-farms/

(c) Moray Council

There have been a few recent announcements by local authorities of their investment in affordable housing. They tend to take the credit all to themselves even though

East Renfrew were the latest today:

East Renfrewshire Council forgets to credit Scottish Government funding for affordable housing

I’ve written a few times giving the credit the Scottish Government deserves for its uniquely (in the UK) progressive stance:

‘Social housing on the up in Scotland’

Moray Council is of course SNP-run so they do the honest thing:

‘Moray Council is on course to complete more than 240 new affordable homes over the next three years. The previous three years have seen a total of 180 affordable homes built and allocated across the area……As part of the More Homes Scotland initiative, the Scottish Government has committed to investing over £3billion to build 50,000 affordable houses over the next five years….To achieve this priority, the government is encouraging councils to prepare for a significant increase in their resource allocations beyond 2018.’

http://www.moray.gov.uk/newsroom/news.html#/pressreleases/provision-of-affordable-homes-set-to-continue-in-moray-1999688