Children with developmental concerns almost doubles McArthur launches probe into proposed use of live facial recognition tech New survey lays bare crisis in social care Children with developmental concerns almost doubles Scottish Liberal Democrat communities spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP has today urged the SNP government to do far more to support children from poorer backgrounds, as new figures revealed that the percentage of children with developmental concerns has almost doubled since 2019. Child health reviews are offered to all children in Scotland. These reviews refer to assessments of a child's development at 13-15 months, 27-30 months and 4-5 years. The ...
Duncan Robinson, the political editor of The Economist, was never convinced by all those article praising Sue Gray: Her flaws as a civil servant. such as a near-sociopathic desire for secrecy, are brushed over, and minor talents are hailed. "She's pretty ruthless at timekeeping," noted one portrait. Often the tone is of a primary-school teacher sending a report to a parent: "One Labour figure said Gray had been a good listener." There's a term or two for this sort of journalism, as Timothy Noah wrote when it was the team around the newly elected President Obama who were being enthusiastically ...
The latest edition of my weekly political polling round-up, The Week in Polls, is out. As it says: Welcome to the 129th edition of The Week in Polls (TWIP), which returns to the Conservative Party's leadership contest and what the polls tell us about members and the public. Find out more by reading this edition of The Week in Polls here, and you can sign up below to receive future editions direct to your email inbox:
The wasp rages in its belljar; it fights against the glass, that warping of the air it would escape, or fracture by its wrath. Its vehemence consumes the spirit of the place, signals its will to break free of constraints imposed upon an insect superman... ...to break and fly and hunt and find and sting and harm the world! Except for wasps; for only wasps can matter. Ignored as if a lie, its pitch and volume rise, shrill and edged and utterly relentless, until it dominates the room. This is a piece I wrote, and first posted, in 2022. Reposted ...
Sun 6th
13:58
UK's International Development needs funds and a long-term vision to meet its stated objectives
The UK's International Development is not meeting its own set of objectives on national security because of the lack of funds and vision. The Guardian reported that the international development budget will be 0.36% of gross national income (GNI). For a clearer perspective, I would re-write the title to: UK International Development Fund will Reach All Times Lows in Failure to Protect International Order We should stop calling it 'Foreign Aid'. The UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) has laid out a strategy since 2015 to tackle global challenges in the national interest and calls for creating prosperity together with developing ...
As regular readers of my blog know I sometimes 'cheat' on my readers by seeing an article which is so close to my own viewpoint and much better written that I simply repeat it. This is the case in the article below from The Guardian whose authorship I completely acknowledge. The figures given below are alarming but only talk about the financial costs, but the human cost is even higher. Over drinking leads to multiple debilitating health problems, break up of families, loss of employment and pressure on the NHS. About 15% of those in hospital have problems which can ...
Reaching it a few days after Ilfracombe, I too found Westward Ho! a let down. You expect more from a resort that was named after a novel and has an exclamation mark. But what's going on in the song? It's clearly a dream - "Why is Frank Ifield jumping up and down on a windmill?" - but where does the dream begin and where does it end? Was his girl married to a plasterer from Bacup all along? Does he even have a girl? I don't know the answer to these questions, but I will share this from a Half ...
China The Chinese leadership is worried. Their country's long history is peppered with instances of the "Mandate of Heaven" falling from the rulers' shoulders because of economic problems. On top of that there is the obvious fact that autocracies run the risk of violent dissent because the non-violent avenues of protest are banned. Paramount Leader Xi Jinping has warned of "potential dangers" and added that the Chinese Communist Party must be "well-prepared" to "overcome grave challenges." In Xi-speak this means a crackdown on dissent accompanied with measures to help the middle classes and criticism of wealthy people who flaunt their ...
It is great to see the Dundee Chess Congress taking place soon in the West End at the University of Dundee Chaplaincy Centre - from 11th-13th October! The premier tournament is already full but there is still ample space left in the major and minor categories. All welcome and further details can be found at http://dundeecongress.co.uk
