Whenever I go to Glasgow to visit my uncle, David Kemp, I generally have the choice of driving or taking the train - but if I had driven today I would have incurred a £60 fine - the car I share with my grown up kids is 12 years old and doesn’t meet the standard for the city’s low emission zone that started yesterday, June 1. In fact, I don’t usually drive - one reason is that … [Read more...] about Glasgow’s LEZ kills off Sylvia
Health
Forget the tough talk and flag waving, Labour
If projections can be relied on, Labour has good reason to feel confident of supplanting the Conservatives as biggest party at the next general election. Yet it remains far from clear that Keir Starmer is heading for a House of Commons majority. A Tory-to-Labour swing of 4.5% in 2023’s local elections in England fell marginally short of the 5% switch-around he needs to enter … [Read more...] about Forget the tough talk and flag waving, Labour
Why Finland is the world’s happiest country
Finland has been the happiest country on earth for the past six years, according to the World Happiness Survey. This survey relies on the Cantril ladder life evaluation question:Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from zero at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst … [Read more...] about Why Finland is the world’s happiest country
Postscript: Infants in care – out of sight out of mind?
In early 2021 we drew attention to the inconvenient truth of the high number of infants in Scotland separated from their mothers before their first birthday, many in the first week of life[1].Between 2008 and 2017 one in every 85 children born in Scotland was in public care at some time before their first birthday: this represents 6,180 infants, a third of whom were less than … [Read more...] about Postscript: Infants in care – out of sight out of mind?
An empty Promise
Following the Independent Care Review, a Promise was made to children and families by the Scottish Government in February 2020. The Promise was that: • No child would become looked after by the local authorities for want of help and support that could prevent them being taken from their homes. • When it was unavoidable for a child to be “looked after” by their local … [Read more...] about An empty Promise