Scottish news bulletin: 3rd December 2008
- Reform Scotland
- 3 December 2008
All newspaper references refer to Scottish editions. Where there is a link to a newspaper’s website, the relevant page reference is blue and underlined.
Data courtesy of Reform Scotland
Economy
Recession: Further comment on the economic slowdown. (George Kerevan in the Scotsman, Irwin Stelzer in The Daily Telegraph). Meanwhile, the construction sector is shrinking at a record pace according to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply. (The Herald page B27)
Job losses: Glasgow-based firm Bowie Castlebank has gone into administration with the loss of 817 jobs.
The company owns ‘Klick Photopoint’ and ‘Max Spielman’ photoprocessing chains as well as William Munroe Cleaners. (The Times page 20, Daily Record page 19, The Courier & Advertiser page 12)
Crime
Police numbers: Official statistics released yesterday show that the number of police officers in Scotland for the three months to September was 16,526, the highest level recorded. (Mail page 17, The Herald page 6, The P & J page 9 The Courier and Advertiser page 8)
Child abuse: Papers published today claim that an estimated 15% of girls and 5% of boys have been subjected to sexual abuse – much of which goes unreported.
(The Guardian page 1)
Transport
Forth Bridge: Lawrence Marshall, the former chairman of the Forth Estuary Transport Authority, has urged the Scottish Government to halt plans for a new Forth crossing arguing the current bridge could be safeguarded for another 80 years. (Mail page 36)
BA Scottish service cuts: British Airways are set to be cut back its Scottish service after details emerged claiming that they plan to axe the early morning Edinburgh-Heathrow flight. This follows the recent drop of the late night Glasgow-Heathrow flight, along with plans to close their Scottish cabin crew operation which would mean a loss of 138 jobs if the closure takes place in January. Meanwhile, discussions are taking place over a possible merger between BA and Australian Airline Quantas. (Daily Record page 18, The Herald page 2)
Education
Leaving certificates: Compulsory literacy and numeracy tests could be taken a year earlier than previously proposed, the Scottish Government has revealed. (Scotsman page 18, The Herald page 6)
Health
Cancer: Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer has said that cancer rates could soar to unprecedented levels unless people start living healthier lives. He also continued that levels of alcoholic liver disease and heart disease are at a high and these too could be prevented. (Scotsman page 8, Express page 17, Sun page 35, Mail page 22, The Daily Telegraph page 2, The Courier & Advertiser page 12, Daily Record page 26)
Heart disease: According to a report by Heart UK four out of five GPs in Scotland are failing to do regular routine checks for heart disease. (Scotsman page 8)
Nurses: The Royal College of Nursing has warned that Scotland’s hospitals and communities are facing an exodus of nurses as the country’s workforce nears retirement. (Mail page 17,
The Courier and Advertiser page 9)
Politics
Queen's Speech: The Queen’s Speech, taking place at Westminster today, is understood to outline 11 pieces of legislation, including pledges to eradicate child poverty by 2020 and welfare reform. (Scotsman page 7, Ross Lydall in the Scotsman, The Times page 3, The Herald page 6, The Daily Telegraph page 4, FT page 3, The P & J page 8, The Guardian page 1)
Damian Green: Further comment on the arrest of Conservative MP Damian Green.
Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons, is expected to make a statement to the House today about the decision to allow police to raid Damian Green’s House of Commons office. David Cameron and Nick Clegg have both demanded a debate on the affair. (Ann Widdecombe in the Express, Sun page 19, Mail page 21, The Times page 3, Alice Miles in The Times, Ian Bell in The Herald, The Herald page 6, The Daily Telegraph page 5, FT page 2, The Courier and Advertiser page 10, The Guardian page 2)
Calman Commission: Comment and analysis of the Calman Commission’s interim report published yesterday. The report did not come out with any recommendations other than emphasising the importance of the union, though it did suggest that further powers could be devolved in areas such as broadcasting and drink-driving limits. (Scotsman page 10, Geoff Mawdsley Director of Reform Scotland in the Scotsman, Express page 8, Ben Thomson Chairman of Reform Scotland in the Express, Mail page 20, The Times page 3, Peter Jones in The Times, Daily Record page 18, The Herald page 6, The Herald page 1, The Daily Telegraph page 10, Alan
Cochrane in The Daily Telegraph, FT page 2, The P & J page 9, The Courier and Advertiser page 9)
HBOS hearing: MSPs are calling for the appeal hearing against the government’s support of the HBOS-Lloyds TSB merger to be held in Edinburgh rather than London. MSPs involved are Tavish Scott MSP and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Alex Neil, and SNP MSP, Margo MacDonald an Independent MSP and Patrick Harvie, leader of the Scottish Greens. (The Times page 28)
Sterling: Further coverage of speculation over whether the Government is looking at scrapping the pound. (Express page 10)
Reform Scotland is an independent, non-party think tank that aims to set out a better way to deliver increased economic prosperity and more effective public services based on the traditional Scottish principles of limited government, diversity and personal responsibility.