Talking-up Scotland

 

In response to this parliamentary question:

‘Annie Wells (Glasgow) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To
ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on people from ethnic
minorities’ (a) confidence in the police and (b) fear of crime, broken down by
ethnicity?’

The following data was presented:

With regard to feelings of safety, the results were worrying in the case of Asian groups and puzzling in the contrast between Scottish and Other British respondents:

Click to access WA20190607.pdf

 

 

From Insider yesterday further evidence of the robust Scottish economy, of the kind not found in crude GDP figures:

‘Demand for permanent staff continued to rise last month – but at a slower rate than during 2018, says a survey by Royal Bank of Scotland. That bucked the wider UK trend, though the increase was at the weakest pace in around two-and-a-half years. The availability of candidates to fill the jobs dropped, while salaries for permanent new starts also showed strong growth in May. On pay, the salaries awarded to permanent new starts increased strongly during May.’

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/demand-staff-still-rising-scotland-16286220

Other evidence of an economy resisting some of the negative effects of Tory policies:

‘Scottish economy growth overtakes that of UK’From Anarcho-syndicalist, Cybernat (NOT), Insider, yesterday: The rate of growth in the Scottish economy has overtaken that of the UK, according to official statistics. Figures published on Wednesday show that in the fourth quarter of last year,…

ECONOMY STRONG: ‘Jobs available in Edinburgh soar by 80% in two years’A quickie from Insider: ‘The number of jobs advertised in Edinburgh has surged 80% in two years, according to new analysis. There has also been a rise in the number of people applying for jobs in Scotland’s capital,…

Scotland’s marine economy predicted to grow by 7 timesFrom Energy Voice yesterday: ‘A new report has forecasted that Scotland’s marine economy will grow seven-fold to be worth £5billion by 2035 if it can successfully develop key industries. The document, produced by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), sets out…

Yet more objective evidence Scotland’s economy healthy in SNP care5.4 million already! In my favourite not-Marxist, not-Nat, business magazine, Insider yesterday, evidence of booming demand for HR professionals: ‘Average entry-level HR administrators’ salaries rose to £19,000 – up on £17,000 two years ago. There was a growing demand for…

More objective evidence of a strong Scottish Economy in 2018From Insider yesterday: The return of UK investors to the market helped the Scottish commercial property sector deliver one of its strongest years in 2018. More than £2.5 billion was invested in offices, retail, industrial and specialist property in…

Scottish labour market outperforms UK revealing more evidence of health in economyOne of several objective measures of health in an economy, unlike say the dubious GERS figures, is growth in the number of staff appointments. The latest RBS Jobs Market Report shows permanent that staff appointments increased at an ‘historically marked’…

The School of Education on the Ayr Campus of the University of the West of Scotland has come top of all education faculties across the UK despite quite an onerous staff:student ratio.

2020	Institution	Guardian score/100	Satisfied with course	Satisfied with teaching	Satisfied with feedback	Student to staff ratio	Spend per student/10	Average entry tariff	Value added score/10	Career after 6 months	Contin-uation
1	West of Scotland	100	93.1	94.3	91.8	22.5	4	189	2	100	95.8
2	Sunderland	93.2	88.8	91.3	84.6	14.1	5	127	8	88	96.3
3	Birmingham City	91.2	88.1	87.3	84.7	11.8	7	129	8	89	91.5
4	UEA	91	88.4	89.8	82.5	19.7	3	150	9	n/a	95.9
5	Durham	90.3	90.5	88.2	83.3	18.7	8	161	7	89	95.5
6	Huddersfield	89.6	87.3	88.7	80.2	13.3	7	138	7	85	91.9
7	Stirling	89.3	87.9	91.3	76	18.8	3	182	8	98	93.6
8	Southampton	88.9	87.6	89.7	82.5	14.8	8	155	6	n/a	91.4
9	Winchester	88.8	94.8	94.5	79.5	15.1	4	126	7	79	96.8
9	Northumbria	88.8	88	85	79.1	18.1	4	151	9	95	96.2
11	UWE Bristol	87.3	96.2	94.8	88.3	17.3	5	132	8	77	92.3
12	Reading	86.2	91.6	88.8	78.3	15.9	5	139	9	90	94.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2019/jun/07/university-guide-2020-league-table-for-education

I got a free transfer from the School in 2004, after 20 years, but had, of course, been entirely responsible for setting it firmly on this path to perfection.

The latest YouGov sub-poll of 144 Scots with fieldwork on 5^th and 6^th June 2019:

• Con 16%
• Lab 8%
• LD 9%
• SNP 48%
• Brexit 15%
• Green 4%

Notes:

1. The much-vaunted Brexit surge is, in Scotland, the same as that in London and only half of that across England.
2. Scots, at 67%, 10% more likely to vote.
3. Scots, at 15%, least likely (London 33%) to think crime an important issue, (despite BBC reporting).

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/06/07/voting-intention-brex-26-lab-20-lib-dem-20-con-18-?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=website_article&utm_campaign=vi_6_june_2019

 

Above, BBC Scotland and the serious English press reveal their agenda or lack of it and, below, the Daily Record surprise me:

The Herald and the Scotsman, below, don’t surprise me:

‘Food and drink firms are being backed with £4.5 million Government funding to boost exports. The money is to help Scottish companies take their products into new and existing markets, offer expert advice, forge stronger relationships with buyers and encourage businesses to develop products. It comes as part of efforts to help the industry achieve its overall aim to double turnover value to £30 billion by 2030.’

Ah there it is!

 ‘The funding under the second phase of the Food and Drink Export Plan come from the Scottish Government, industry and Scottish Development International, lasting from 2019 to 2024. Scotland’s food and drink sector has grown year on year, increasing by 78% since 2007. Last year, exports reached a record level of £6.3 billion, with support from the first phase of the export plan. The Scottish Government also recently launched a wider export strategy – A Trading Nation – setting out plans for growing Scotland’s exports to add around £3.5 billion to GDP and create 17,500 more jobs.’

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/45-million-backing-food-drink-16257649

Some earlier reports here on food and drink to remind you how we might get on in the future:

Difficult times as UK food & drink exports ‘slow to crawl’ but in Scotland?‘UK Food and Drink Exports growth slow to a crawl in 2018’, does not mention Scotland but the map below from the same site does, to dramatic effect: http://www.fdf.org.uk/exports-2018-q4.aspx Only the mostly rural South East compares.…

Return of the meme! 8% of the population but 38% of the food and drink exports. How would Scotland survive? ‘Value of whisky exports rises 7.8% as Scotland’s food and drink sold abroad brings in record £6.3 billion. Total exports increased by £293 million in 2018, a 4.9% rise, according to HMRC. Food exports have…

While Labour contradict themselves past and present, the Scottish government acted on food insecurityAs the Scottish branch attempted to pose as champions of the poor and hungry, they were quickly reminded of the contrary actions of their host party in England: Those with a little recall had not forgotten that the Scottish branch…

Scotland’s food and drink sales increase 36% in only 10 yearsFrom Scotland Food & Drink, yesterday: Sector grows by £527 million (in one year?) Sector generated a £13.9 billion turnover in 2016, up 3.9% on the previous year. Turnover is estimated to have increased by…

Scottish Government launches 50 new starter farms as Brexit threatens major food price risesFrom Farmers Weekly yesterday: ‘Fifty new part-time starter farms are to be made available to new entrants in Scotland. The Scottish government has announced more than 1,000ha of public land will be let out as part of…

Still 8% of the population but now 30% of UK food and drink exports?Back in June 2017, I headlined a piece with: With only 8% of the population, Scotland accounts for more than 28% of UK food and drink exports. Too wee to survive on our own? In the above piece, I…

Scotland continues to produce more than a quarter of the UK’s food and drink exports in 2017, with only one twelfth of the population. How much is it feeding the UK too?Scotland’s 5.3 million population represents only one twelfth or just 8% of the UK’s total population of 65.6 million. From January to September 2017, UK food and drink exports increased 11.0% to £16.1bn against the same period in 2016.

Carers are invisible in Scotland’s media. The only story I could find was STV’s ‘Pensioner robbed by fake carer during bogus home visit’ yet there was a big newsworthy headline available, showing Scotland in a good light and making the Scottish Government seem compassionate. Oh, that’s not really of interest to your viewers? I see. I really do see. Anyhow, here it is:

‘More than 83,000 carers in Scotland will this year get an extra £452.40 in Carer’s Allowance Supplement as a result of Scottish Government spending. The increase means that carers in Scotland will receive £452.40 more this year than equivalent carers in the rest of the UK. Importantly, the increase means that Carer’s Allowance combined with Carer’s Allowance Supplement payments in Scotland are now higher than Jobseeker’s Allowance. Whereas in the rest of the UK it remains the case that carers get less support than people in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance.’

https://news.gov.scot/news/more-financial-support-for-carers

 

In the ‘Scottish’ Daily Express today:

‘Miles Briggs, Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary, said: “The breath-taking hypocrisy of the SNP is all on show here. Maybe the SNP should try looking in the mirror sometime as the SNP itself has repeatedly signed multi-million-pound healthcare contracts with American companies over the last decade’.

It turns out that Briggs is talking about the not-for-profit Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) bought in 2008 by the Scottish Government to design, promote, and implement the Scottish Patient Safety Programme credited with this stunning success:

‘Scotland’s health system is to be congratulated for a multi-year effort that has produced some of the largest population-wide reductions in surgical deaths ever documented.’

A World Health Organization safety checklist to encourage teamwork and communication during operations has been associated with a 37% reduction in the death rate after operations, with a notably dramatic fall since 2007/8.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/bjs.11151

So, if it is hypocrisy to buy in a system is it also hypocrisy to buy drugs or ambulances? Remember IHI staff do not work with patients. This is not like NHS England farming out whole services to private companies.

The above story appeared on the BBC UK website but not on the BBC Scotland website. It absolutely was not mentioned on Reporting Scotland.  I’m sure you see why it just wouldn’t appeal to the editorial team at Pacific Quay. It’s a gift to the Yes campaign. Not only are the Trident submarines not wanted by most Scots because of the risks to health associated with them and the massive direct costs of having them but here is evidence that they are also being further subsidised indirectly by obliging us to pay for nuclear electricity generation so that it, in turn, will cross-subsidise the nuclear submarines:

‘Prof Andy Stirling from Sussex argues that one reason the government is willing to burden householders with the expense of nuclear energy is because it underpins the supply chain and skills base for firms such as Rolls Royce and Babcock that work on nuclear submarines. He said: “It is clear that the costs of maintaining nuclear submarine capabilities are insupportable without parallel consumer-funded civil nuclear infrastructures.”

Though presented to the Westminster Business Select Committee, the story was never going to be reported on any Scottish platform. It only made BBC UK, the Independent and Sputnik.

In contrast, this below appeared only on the Scottish website and was headlined on Reporting Scotland. Though based on a UK-wide survey by the RCGP, it did not appear on BBC UK broadcasts nor on the website. It was reported across the Scottish and English newspapers.

This is based on the usual dodgy research by a partisan group but to headline it and repeat it all day just feels like the right thing to do by our sub-conscious Unionists in Pacific Quay. Full critique here:

BBC Scotland’s fake news on GPs ‘overwhelmed’ by workloads

 

According to BBC Scotland News today:

‘Patients should get appointments with GPs lasting at least 15 minutes rather than 10, according to the Royal College of GPs. In a report, it warns nearly 40% of GPs in Scotland feel overwhelmed by their workload at least once a week.’

Neither the report by the Royal College of General Practitioners. Fit for the future: a vision for general practice. May 2019. https://www.rcgp.org.uk/-/media/Files/News/2019/RCGP-fit-for-the-future-report-may-2019.ashx?la=en. nor its compendium of evidence contain any such phrase. The word ‘overwhelmed’ does not appear at all and the word ‘workload’ is never associated with ‘Scotland’ or indeed with any figure but, in the BBC report (only), we see this:

‘RCGP Scotland chairwoman Dr Carey Lunan said: “Nearly 40% of GPs report that they feel so overwhelmed by their daily tasks that they feel they cannot cope at least once per week.’

The claim seems to be based entirely on an interview with Dr Lunan. We do not know whether she refers to the whole sample or to some Scottish sub-set available to her. Neither the report nor the compendium of evidence provides any raw data broken down into a Scottish sub-set. There is, of course, no methodology offered.

Perhaps there is another report, unspecified by the BBC or by Dr Lunan. I’d be happy to see and consider it, especially its methodology, but the RCGP only seem to have this one.

Scotland is mentioned in the report but only in positive sense. See these:

Page 8: In Scotland, 83% of people rate the overall care provided by their GP practice positively.

Page 9:

Page 27: Scotland: Numbers of nurses increased by 7% between 2009–17, whilst the number of health support workers (HSW) has increased by 37% from 2013–17. Other health staff most commonly working in practices are pharmacists, health visitors and midwives.

Page 41: Regular telephone/VC case conferences with speciality consultant colleagues at our main referring hospital and our GPs has vastly improved both our confidence in complex case management and reduced hugely ꢁme consuming (due to great distance) hospital appointments. It has also ensured referrals made are more appropriate.

There are no negative comments regarding GPs and their workloads anywhere in the 60 pages of the Compendium of Evidence.