Society
Highland homes for whom?
This tiny village (Diabaig), nestled at the foot of the Torridon mountains in Wester Ross, makes an interesting case study for the second homes issue that concerns many voters in the Highlands in the run-up…
Education: no more business as usual
“Change can be difficult and uncomfortable, but there is unlikely to be a better time to begin to dismantle some of the barriers which have impeded genuine growth. Scottish education needs to escape from the…
Dateline Covid capital of Scotland
“The tension between reporting the facts and the grave reality of the situation and the responsibility to boost morale is laid out in front of you as a reporter.” Trials and tribulations of being a…
Infants in care – Scotland’s civic emergency
In Scotland, one in every 85 children born between 2008 and 2017 was in public care at some time before their first birthday, separated from their mothers in their first year of life. These figures are…
Why do we need a Year of Childhood?
Scotland – like the rest of the UK – is experiencing an epidemic of mental health problems among children and young people. An epidemic that, thanks to COVID19, is now a terrifying threat to the…
Statistical amnesia
‘Putting it bluntly, this kind of statistical amnesia will seem a little tawdry to anyone who invested belief and political capital in the First Minister’s approach.’ Our statistical expert ends the year of the pandemic…
Empathy for women
‘Women have no rights to organise separately. Women’s meetings on the subject of our own rights have been met with threats, intimidation, protests to the venues, smoke bombs, barrages of chanting and banging on windows…
Straw man statistics
‘But the more fundamental objection is that the study (by Public Health Scotland into hospital discharges to care homes) tells us nothing about the real question of concern: Did the discharge of untested patients to…
All in the same boat?
Relationship breakdown, housing, mental health and finances have been some of the main issues impacting young people. It isn’t over yet. I can assure you – this pandemic is no great leveller.
Scottish councils at breaking point
‘This will not be unique to Scotland’s capital but does illustrate the double bind that local government is in with COVID-19: tackling the problems created along with the cost of doing so with insufficient funding…
COVID-19: scapegoating begins in earnest
In his latest piece on the pandemic, Hugh Pennington examines inter alia how cuts in labs and scientists have helped damage our response to the coronavirus
No more political games
‘It’s right that we do not forget that the objective of protecting the NHS in Scotland resulted in people being denied essential care for non-COVID-19 conditions nor the mistakes made in respect of care homes…But…