Latest news with #TheScottishGovernment
Edinburgh Reporter
5 days ago
- Health
- Edinburgh Reporter
Stroke patients left waiting as Scottish Government fails to deliver
Every weekend, stroke patients across Scotland are left waiting for care – a consequence of The Scottish Government's failure to implement the national stroke service it pledged more than two years ago. Despite a clear commitment to deliver round-the-clock treatment, hundreds of patients are still being denied access to thrombectomy, one of the most effective and time-critical stroke interventions available. This procedure, which removes blood clots from the brain, can triple a patient's chance of regaining independence after an ischaemic stroke. Yet access to it remains severely restricted. Currently, only NHS Lothian offers the service seven days a week. That means a patient in Edinburgh may be treated within hours, while someone in nearby Fife may have to wait until Monday, missing the critical window for intervention and facing a much greater risk of lifelong disability. In 2023, only 153 patients in Scotland received a thrombectomy, despite clinical estimates suggesting nearly 1,000 people were eligible. That's not a system under pressure; that's a system failing by design. I questioned the Scottish Government on this issue, but we are still awaiting meaningful answers. More than two years have passed since the Stroke Improvement Plan was published, and implementation has stalled. Most health boards remain limited to weekday hours, a shocking shortfall when stroke outcomes are measured in minutes. I recently met with the Stroke Association, whose tireless advocacy has been central to the campaign for a fully funded, nationwide thrombectomy service. They report that the procedure could save the NHS up to £47,000 per patient in long-term care, underscoring both its clinical and economic value. Meanwhile, other nations are moving ahead. In Ireland, nearly 9% of stroke patients receive a thrombectomy, six times the rate in Scotland. Clinicians across NHS Scotland say they have the expertise and are ready to expand the service, but lack the necessary resources, infrastructure, and national coordination. Stroke survivors shouldn't face worse outcomes because of their postcode or the day they fall ill. The time for reviews is over. The Scottish Government must act because the longer we wait, the more lives we put at risk. Foysol Choudhury MSP signs the pledge Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Reporter
22-07-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
End of year report from the Scotland Office
After a year in government the Secretary of State for Scotland laid his department's annual report in parliament on Tuesday saying that 'The Scotland Office has taken huge steps forward in delivering for people in Scotland'. The Rt Hon Ian Murray, Secretary of State for Scotland reported that he has restructured the Scotland Office, ensured cash and spending powers for the department to deliver its Brand Scotland campaign, taken a key role in directing new funding to local growth projects and has also 'reset relationships' with The Scottish Government. Mr Murray sets out in the report that his office, where Midlothian MP Kirsty McNeill is the Under-Secretary of State, has four strategic priorities – economic growth, clean energy, Brand Scotland and tackling poverty. In October last year the Minister welcomed both the Prime Minister and The First Minister, John Swinney to Queen Elizabeth House during the Council of Nations and Regions. The Scotland Office has a Greening Government commitment and this is manifested in the numbers. It has reduced its reliance on Air Travel from 75.42 CO2e tonnes to 41.86 CO2e tonnes in 2024-25 and also reduced the number of reams of paper used from 145 to 100 between the final year of the Conservative government and this last year. The Offices (both Scotland and the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland OAG) are committed to reducing their environmental impact by: • Encouraging the use of video conferencing and dial-in facilities rather than travelling to meetings; • Using recycled paper and other stationery; • Using public transport rather than cars when travelling to meetings; and • Ensuring that our printers and photocopiers are all energy efficient models which reduce paper wastage. There are four non-executive directors at the Scotland Office – Stuart Patrick who is the Chief Executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Martin Dorchester who is Chief Executive of Includem, Susan Deacon, the Lead Non-executive Director, who is also Chair of Lothian Buses until August 2026, and Andrew Kerr who is the former Chief Executive of The City of Edinburgh Council. One other – Tom Harris – resigned in June 2024. He also holds positions with public affairs companies Message Matters and Cogitamus. The Interim Accounting Officer states in the report that the Non-Executive Directors are 'the most important external source of assurance' in relation to assessing the effectiveness of the Offices. The Rt Hon Ian Murray Secretary of State for Scotland speaking at the opening of the Usher Building in the Edinburgh Bioquarter Mr Murray said: 'Over the past year I have reformed and restructured the Scotland Office, so it can deliver the UK Government's Plan for Change in Scotland, focusing on my priorities of economic growth, clean energy, Brand Scotland and tackling poverty. 'This work has started in earnest, with £3 million for Brand Scotland. This is a fantastic opportunity to promote all that is great about Scotland around the world, and show investors the opportunities of Scotland. 'We are also taking a key role in delivering local growth funding in Scotland, with the UK Government delivering £1.7 billion in local growth projects across Scotland. Our industrial strategy will make sure we can take advantage of the jobs of the future and GB Energy, headquartered here in Scotland, will drive our clean energy transition.' On Brand Scotland, the report confirms that Mr Murray has already invested some of the funding to sign deals with the Royal Edinburgh Royal Tattoo and the Scottish Chambers of Commerce. The Scotland Office published a round up video on Facebook: Loading… 12/7/2024 Secretary of State for Scotland the Rt Hon Ian Murray MP on Roof top terrace at Queen Elizabeth House Picture Alan Simpson UK Government in Scotland (Scotland Office). Photo: Martin P. McAdam Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Reporter
17-07-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
UNESCO Trail declared a success
Scotland's UNESCO Trail is hailed a success as VisitScotland say it inspired two in five visitors to go to at least one of Scotland's designated sites. The report which they have published finds that as many as one in four long haul visitors go to one of the sites in Scotland. More than a third said the trail, which was launched as a digital presence in October 2021, was an important factor in deciding to visit one of the sites. Scotland is the first country to develop such an initiative through a partnership involving VisitScotland, The Scottish Government, the UK National Commission for UNESCO, Historic Environment Scotland, NatureScot, the National Trust for Scotland and Scotland's UNESCO designations. Business Minister Richard Lochhead said: 'Each one of Scotland's UNESCO sites tells a story of Scotland's rich and varied culture, history and heritage. Together, they form a powerful showcase of Scotland's unique proposition as a year-round sustainable tourism destination. 'The UNESCO Trail has been a pioneering project led by VisitScotland in partnership with sites across the country and this analysis shows the clear value of the initiative as it helps build a compelling story that is attracting tourists and visitors from across the world to our incredible, unique UNESCO sites up and down the country.' Vicki Miller, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: 'Scotland's UNESCO Trail was a major milestone in Scotland's responsible tourism ambitions. It helped support our work to encourage visitors to slow down and immerse themselves in our marvellous regions, ensuring the benefits of the visitor economy are felt right across our communities. 'Scotland's UNESCO designations encapsulate much of what makes Scotland a must-visit must-return destination. It is our unique landscape, history, heritage and culture that keep visitors coming back. 'Partnership working is at the heart of all that we do, and the Trail was a real collaboration between the industry, our national partners, UNESCO sites and the Scottish Government to raise our destination's profile on the global stage. These results show that it not only captured the imagination of our visitors but helped develop new relationships between UNESCO sites and the wider tourism sector.' The full list of Scotland's UNESCO designations are: the Galloway & Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere, Wester Ross UNESCO Biosphere, Dundee UNESCO City of Design, Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature, Glasgow UNESCO City of Music, Perth UNESCO City of Crafts and Folk Art, Arran UNESCO Global Geopark, Shetland UNESCO Global Geopark, North West Highlands UNESCO Global Geopark, the Flow Country UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Forth Bridge UNESCO World Heritage Site, Frontiers of the Roman Empire: Antonine Wall UNESCO World Heritage Site, New Lanark UNESCO World Heritage Site, Heart of Neolithic Orkney UNESCO World Heritage Site, Old and New Towns of Edinburgh UNESCO World Heritage Site, St Kilda UNESCO World Heritage Site. Loading… PHOTO Stephen Sweeney Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Reporter
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Edinburgh Reporter
Whitfield meets with indigenous Wampís leaders
Martin Whitfield, MSP in Lothian East, met with Indigenous Wampís leaders from the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Wampís Nation (GTANW) on Monday. The leaders have spent a week in Scotland seeking the support of The Scottish Government and solidarity with the Scottish people to ensure their human rights are protected and respected by the Peruvian state, international governments and business enterprises, including financial institutions. In the meeting, the Pamuk (president) Teófilo Kukush Pati and the Director of Justice, Tsanim Evaristo Wajai Asamat, GTANW, explained that their politics and philosophy is based on that of their ancestors' traditional knowledge, which is centred on the notion of living well with nature and protecting their forests, rivers, biodiversity and culture. Ensuring that future generations can continue to live in abundance in their territory is their highest priority. The leaders discussed the human rights and environmental harms their community faces daily in their territory, due to illegal gold mining, illegal logging and oil extraction. The leaders detailed how the contamination of their rivers has resulted in polluted drinking water, as well as the contamination of vital food sources such as fish, as well as environmental harms these also constitute violations to their human rights. During the meeting, Martin Whitfield, MSP accepted an exclusive preview copy of a position paper on business and human rights, on behalf of Douglas Alexander, MP. The position paper co-authored by the leaders calls for the introduction of an outcomes-focused corporate accountability law in the UK, and details key principles that such a law should be modelled on to ensure UK businesses and finance respect individual and collective human rights, as well as the environment. Such a law would, for example, ensure that financial institutions stop financing activities that violate the human rights of Indigenous peoples and stop damaging the environments they steward. The Wampís Nation has direct experience of this: the State-run company PetroPeru, who owns the oil concession on their territory operates without their consent has received funding from UK financial institutions. Mr Whitfield said: 'It was a wonderful privilege to meet representatives from the Wampis Indigenous people of North Peru. The opportunity to learn about the environmental impact of illegal gold mining, logging and the risk of oil extraction was enlightening. The world has a responsibility to Indigenous peoples, who are often best placed to preserve and take care of environments they have coexisted with for millennia. As Pamuk Teofilo Kukush said, 'Our ancestors knew how to govern and how to respect nature.' As J P Macintosh former East Lothian MP said 'People…want a degree of government for themselves. It is not beyond the wit of man to devise the institutions to meet these demands.'' Pamuk Teofilo Kukush Pati, the Pamuk or elected president of the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Wampís Nation said: 'Our politics is wellbeing, tarimat pujut, or good living in harmony with nature, so we demand that funds support us in protecting our territory, our forest – which is 82% intact – and we will continue reforesting for the good of our generation, our people and for all. This is why we need funds to be designated directly to us, to support our activities, including reforestation, bioeconomy and productive initiatives. With access to larger funds, we would be able to better protect our territory across the two river basins, through the Charip socio-environmental monitoring group.' Tsanim Evaristo Wajai Asamat, Director de Justicia del Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís said: 'We've always looked after the territory, it is our culture to look after it, but this is coming back now even more strongly in part because non-Wampis people are attacking us, they want us to leave the territory. We are facing even more threats today than ever – before we didn't face as many threats as today, so our people could look after their farms, needs and livelihoods, but now the threat level is so high that our work has doubled, even tripled. Our daily needs still need to be met. So who is going to help us gain back this time? If we're needed to look after the territory and dedicating our time to this, who is going to work on the farms? Who is going to look after the fish? Educate the children? This is why we need direct funding.' The Wampís Nation's strong self-governance and self-determined strategies are proven to work, their territory – 1.3 million hectares of forests and waters in the northern Peruvian Amazon – comprises of 82% intact tropical forest. However, the lack of recognition of their human rights by the Peruvian state, as well as the lack of direct funding from both climate funds the Peruvian state receives and international climate funding hinders their efforts. The COP26 held in Glasgow in 2021 was a pivotal moment for direct funding of Indigenous peoples: the UK government committed to increasing its direct support for Indigenous peoples, including to secure their right to land and territories, and the upcoming COP30 in Brazil provides an opportunity for the UK to renew its commitments. Indigenous leaders from the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Wampís Nation (GTANW), situated in Peru, visit Martin Whitfield MSP to deliver a Position Paper they have co-written. Pamuk Teófilo Kukush Pati is the elected leader and Tsanim Evaristo Wajai Asamat is the Director of Justice. Pic Greg Macvean 30/06/2025 Indigenous leaders from the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Wampís Nation (GTANW), situated in Peru, met with Martin Whitfield MSP to deliver a Position Paper they have co-written. Pamuk Teófilo Kukush Pati is the elected leader and Tsanim Evaristo Wajai Asamat is the Director of Justice. Pic Greg Macvean 30/06/2025 Martin Whitfield MSP met with Pamuk Teófilo Kukush Pati is the elected leader and Tsanim Evaristo Wajai Asamat is the Director of Justice. Pic Greg Macvean Pic Greg Macvean 30/06/2025 Indigenous leaders from the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Wampís Nation (GTANW), situated in Peru, visit Martin Whitfield MSP to deliver a Position Paper they have co-written. Pamuk Teófilo Kukush Pati is the elected leader and Tsanim Evaristo Wajai Asamat is the Director of Justice. Pic Greg Macvean 30/06/2025 Indigenous leaders from the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Wampís Nation (GTANW), situated in Peru, visit Martin Whitfield MSP to deliver a Position Paper they have co-written. Pamuk Teófilo Kukush Pati is the elected leader and Tsanim Evaristo Wajai Asamat is the Director of Justice. Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Reporter
25-06-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
Government pledges more funding for the Edinburgh International Book Festival
A grant of £300,000 announced on Wednesday morning by The Scottish Government to the Edinburgh International Book Festival will ensure the continuation of free events for schoolchildren. This funding will replace financial backing from Baillie Gifford which was lost last year after protests against the investment company's involvement in fossil fuel industries. Baillie Gifford was the major sponsor of the schools programme. This year there will be more than 60 in-person and livestreamed events, including author talks with How to Train Your Dragon author Cressida Cowell and award-winning storyteller Frank Cottrell-Boyce. The grant will also maintain travel cost support and free tickets for pupils whose families are unable to cover the cost of ticketed events, ensuring young people of all backgrounds in Edinburgh have the chance to take part in the internationally renowned festival. Children attending will also receive a free book through the philanthropy of Book Festival donors. The Scottish Government also announced that it is spending an additional £4 million on Scottish festivals in Edinburgh and Glasgow. This is part of a commitment by the government to invest an additional £100 million annually in arts and culture by 2028-29. Creative Scotland has already awarded the Edinburgh International Book Festival £1,88 million in public multi-year funding for the next three years, more than doubling previous support. Minister for Business and Employment Richard Lochhead said: 'The Edinburgh International Book Festival is one the country's most significant cultural institutions. Its schools programme has been crucial in fostering literacy and cultural engagement among young people, with thousands of pupils benefiting annually from free events and resources. 'This funding secures those benefits for young readers across Edinburgh, helping schools that might otherwise struggle with travel costs, and ensuring they have the same opportunity to take part in one of the world's leading literary festivals.' Jenny Niven, Festival Director & CEO of Edinburgh International Book Festival said: 'The work the Book Festival does for children and young people is a cornerstone of what we do. Publishing for children and young people has never been more vibrant, and the benefits of reading never better evidenced. 'The Festival is perfectly positioned to help children engage with the amazing range and breadth of stories around them, to support teachers to use books imaginatively and creatively in learning, and to supply older kids with the tools to think critically, and learn to evaluate the deluge of info around them. This aspect of what we do is vital, and we're delighted to have specific public funding support to develop this work further in the coming years. 'We've identified the cost of transport as a key barrier to a wider cohort of schools joining us in August, and are committed to maintaining free access for as many children as possible. We're delighted that the Scottish Government's increased support for festivals has delivered public funding to develop this work further in the coming years and we look forward to widening our reach across Scotland and exploring further the digital potential of what we do.' Earlier protest at The Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2023. © 2023 Martin McAdam Baillie Gifford funding ended last year In August last year the book festival board announced they would end their 20 year relationship with Baillie Gifford. At the time Allan Little, chair of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said: 'Our team cannot be expected to deliver a safe and sustainable festival this August under the constant threat of disruption from activists. This was a pragmatic response to that reality. 'Funding for the arts is now in a perilous position and we should all be clear that without the support of our partners and donors, the future of festivals like ours – and all of the benefits these events bring to authors and readers alike – is in jeopardy. 'We are a charity that provides an important platform for authors and readers of all views and political opinions to agree, disagree, challenge, and provoke. Book festivals around the world are forums in which rigorous, intelligent debate can take place. Our festival should be a place where progressive and nuanced discussion can happen in a safe and respectful space. 'Indeed, our programme this year is designed to give a voice to those directly affected by conflict and those engaged at the most senior levels in its resolution. We will explore the real challenges involved in transition, green tech and climate finance, misinformation and the need for new economic models. 'We are determined to have those debates and to have them out in the open, but we need everyone to come to the table. We have made several invitations to Fossil Free Books, and other groups, to attend this year's festival and regret that they have not responded to those offers.' And also in 2024 Nick Thomas, partner, Baillie Gifford, said: 'Our collaboration with the Edinburgh International Book Festival, spanning decades, was rooted in our shared interest in making Edinburgh a thriving and culturally vibrant place to live and work. In recent years we have been proud to support the Schools' and Children's programmes, providing free books and creating opportunities for young readers to meet authors. 'The activists' anonymous campaign of coercion and misinformation has put intolerable pressure on authors and the festival community. We step back with the hope that the festival will thrive this year and into the future. We hold the activists squarely responsible for the inhibiting effect their action will have on funding for the arts in this country. 'Baillie Gifford is a long-term investor with high ethical standards and a complete focus on doing what is right by our clients. The assertion that we have significant amounts of money in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is offensively misleading. Baillie Gifford is a large investor in several multinational technology companies, including Amazon, NVIDIA, and Meta. Demanding divestment from these global companies, used by millions of people around the world, is unreasonable and serves no purpose. Much as it would be unreasonable to demand authors boycott Instagram or stop selling books on Amazon. 'Nor is Baillie Gifford a significant fossil fuel investor. Only 2% of our clients' money is invested in companies with some business related to fossil fuels. We invest far more in companies helping drive the transition to clean energy. 'We remain committed to contributing positively to our community through philanthropic support.' Jenny Niven Like this: Like Related
