SNP school pledge ‘was worthless’ – The Times, 24/03/21

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Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of putting independence before schools by launching her bid for another referendum on the day auditors revealed that she failed to improve education for poorer children.

Before the 2016 Holyrood election, Sturgeon said education would be her number one priority She pledged to “substantially close the attainment gap” between affluent and deprived children by the end of the current parliament — which ended yesterday — and “to eliminate it within a decade”.

But Audit Scotland, the spending watchdog that independently assesses the government’s performance, said in a report published on Tuesday: “Progress on closing the gap has been limited and falls short of the Scottish government’s aims.”

Scots face tax hikes of up to 46 percent in independent Scotland – Daily Express, 22/03/21

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SCOTS could face large tax hikes if Scotland becomes independent, a research paper has warned.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance said an independent Scotland would have the highest deficit in Europe if it were to quit the UK. This would force the Scottish Government to raise taxes and cut public spending, the research paper warned.

The paper claimed an independent Scotland would need to raise the basic rate of income tax to 46 pence in the pound to pay for its current level of spending.

Policy officials said the current rate of Scottish spending is £11,247, which is 20 percent higher than England, and could not be supported without huge tax rises, or a significant reduction in public spending.

The lobby group predicted the Scottish Parliament would need to increase taxes by at least 10 per cent of GDP to balance the books and raise VAT to 49 per cent.

A government without rules – Stephen Daisley, 22/03/21

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A government without rules

The final week before parliamentary recess typically has a last-day-of-term feel. When there’s an election in the offing, the focus is on tying up legislative loose ends and gathering for retiring rivals’ valedictory speeches.

After five years of knocking lumps out of one another, old enemies conspire over cups of tea in the canteen, gossiping about strategies, blackening the names of parties’ rising stars and pronouncing on who is a safe bet to be returned and who’s had their electoral chips.

There will be none of that this week. Not just because Covid-19 has made getting together for a cuppa a hanging offence but because this week the fate of Nicola Sturgeon hangs in the balance. The First Minister will receive the conclusions of the Holyrood inquiry into her government’s handling of complaints against her predecessor, mentor and arch-enemy Alex Salmond.

We already know the committee will say she misled MSPs in her evidence, a revelation which has prompted Sturgeon’s office and some SNP members to trash the panel in advance of its report.

Around 60,000 Covid vaccine slots missed in Scotland last week amid delays in letter deliveries – The Sun, 25/03/21

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AROUND one in seven vaccine appointments were missed last week amid delays in delivering vaccine letters, the Scottish Government admitted tonight.

Ministers revealed about 60,000 slots were “not attended” – leaving their target number for inoculations well short of a 400,000 seven-day target.

The Scottish Government admitted to the problem after The Scottish Sun asked why there were around 80,000 fewer jabs last week than Health Secretary Jeane Freeman’s stated aim.

On March 12, the SNP minister had told how the rollout should accelerate dramatically to 400,000 doses in a week, following a slowdown blamed on supplies.

But the Scottish Government’s own figures showed 316,393 jabs – first and second doses – were carried out in the seven days from March 14.

It means Scotland is still lagging behind both England and Wales in terms of the percentages of both the adult or overall population vaccinated.