IN case you missed it in all the excitement of a ministerial reshuffle, here are some of the other things announced on Tuesday by the Scottish Government.
Flagship education shake-up parked
Education Secretary John Swinney told MSPs that he was shelving the Education Bill,
legislation giving head teachers new powers over staff budget and lessons . Nicola Sturgeon had claimed it would be the most radical change to how schools are run since devolution.
Cancer delays
Scotland’s cancer treatment waiting times were at their worst level for six years. Figures showed only four of the country’s 14 health boards met the target of 62 days between referral and first treatment.
Ferry price cut missed
Ministers had promised subsidies for ferry fares to Shetland and Orkney would be in place by the end of June but only a deal to cut prices for Shetland has been struck.
The oldest trick in the book as SNP ministers try to make bad news disappear – click here to read more
Fall in knife stops
Fewer police on the streets are uncovering offensive weapons, according to statistics. A press release hailed the number of crimes of handling offensive weapons fell by more than two thirds over the last decade, but frontline officers say these figures are meaningless as there are fewer on the beat.
Holyrood failing people
The number of people who think having a Scottish Parliament gives ordinary people more of a say in how the country is governed is falling, the social attitudes survey revealed. In 2015, 61% of people thought it gave the person on the street more say, which has dropped to 57%.
Big delays for mental health treatment
A quarter of children waited more than four months for mental health treatment, NHS figures revealed. The 18-week treatment time guarantee was not met for 24% of Child and Adolescent Mental Health referrals across Scotland during the final quarter of the 2017/18 financial year.
Land registration backlog
Answering a parliamentary question, the Scottish Government revealed a huge backlog of land registration applications at the Registers of Scotland. The property and land quango had 35,807 applications outstanding as of April this year, up from 369 in April, 2016. Bosses at Registers admitted the situation was “unacceptable and unsustainable.”
Drug treatment delays
The number of drug addicts waiting more than six weeks to start rehabilitation programmes has soared. Between January and March this year, 3124 people were waiting to start their first drug or alcohol treatment. Almost 300 had been waiting more than six weeks, a big year-on-year increase.
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