Boris Johnson should hold at least four meetings each year with Nicola Sturgeon and devolved government leaders, says think-tank – The Scotsman

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The Prime Minister should hold at least four meetings each year with the leaders of the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, a think-tank has suggested.

Our Scottish Future made the plea as a report examining how the different governments had worked together during the coronavirus pandemic commented on the “seemingly dire personal relationship” between Boris Johnson and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The paper, based on interviews with senior figures in both the London and Edinburgh governments, argued the close-working relationships that have now been built up between health ministers across the UK need to be replicated and become a permanent feature of politics.

Scots doctors’ leaders blast ‘worrying gaps’ in SNP’s NHS Covid recovery plan as Sturgeon vows to inject £1billion – Scottish Sun

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DOCTORS’ leaders hit out last night over “worrying gaps” in the SNP’s long-awaited NHS Covid recovery plan.

Nicola Sturgeon vowed to spend £1billion on improving care while tackling massive waiting lists and treatment backlogs through a 22 per cent increase in activity by 2026.

The blueprint, unveiled yesterday by the First Minister and her Health Secretary Humza Yousaf, promised to dramatically boost post-pandemic treatment numbers – but rivals claimed she had already broken a pre-election promise on increasing patient capacity.

Ms Sturgeon said the plan would drive the NHS recovery “beyond its pre-pandemic level”, with reinstating face-to-face GP appointments and cutting A&E visits urgent priorities.

But experts warned the 28-page document lacked detail – while one cancer charity suggested it was a “missed opportunity”.

BMA Scotland chair Dr Lewis Morrison said it failed to address recruitment challenges and said: “We cannot hope to deliver what is currently demanded of our NHS, let alone an extra ten per cent.

“Striving to meet this commitment is unrealistic without the staff to do it, and it risks driving existing staff harder.

Child grooming crimes in Scotland rise by 80% in five years – Daily Record

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Between April 2020 and March 2021 there were 685 offences of indecent communications with a child in Scotland – a record high and a rise of 80% from the same period in 2015 to 2016.

Nicola Sturgeon faces demands to ‘take responsibility’ for failings during Covid pandemic – Daily Express

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“They had gone and I didn’t feel safe. I didn’t feel I was being valued as a Scottish NHS worker and there was no explanation as to why this PPE was out of date or what was happening.

“The fact that my practice was borrowing equipment from builders merchants, from scouts giving us donations.

“We were in no way prepared for the pandemic and the Scottish Government did not produce the equipment we needed quick enough.”

The First Minister said the judge-led inquiry would have a “person-centred, human rights-based” approach.

Richard Murphy on GERS: The Perpetually Baffled Man – Chokka Blog

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I’m writing a serious blog on GERS and really don’t want it to get bogged down by engaging with the frankly bonkers claims made by the perpetually baffled GERS-denier in chief, Richard Murphy.

To engage with Murphy on the topic of GERS is as pointless and frustrating as trying to play chess with a pigeon (while wrestling a pig). But I recognise that some of you might think that describes an amusing spectator sport, so let me use this blog to deal with some of his recent – um – “contributions to the debate”.

My starting point is his appearance on the “GERS – Scotonomics Special“. This is an hour of video and I only made it 5 minutes in before I realised that I simply couldn’t sit through any more of it because life, like me, is too short.