NPR

duke wrote: Thu Aug 22, 2024 2:22 pm Logical move, I don't suppose many visitors will even blink when asked for it.

Biffer wrote: Thu Aug 22, 2024 2:47 pm And the US. 15% in NYC

inactionman wrote: Thu Aug 22, 2024 2:44 pm It's ultimately only a few bob, and will help with all the expenses incurred in silly season.

Slick wrote: Thu Aug 22, 2024 3:32 pm

inactionman wrote: Thu Aug 22, 2024 2:44 pm It's ultimately only a few bob, and will help with all the expenses incurred in silly season.

Hopefully they spend it on that. I also love when cities have days that are reserved for locals to visit attractions at a reduced price etc, Edinburgh should really look at this.

Anyway, i think it's a great move, the tourist industry has wagged the tail for too long. Now to get rid of 90% of the tat shops.

Slick wrote: Thu Aug 22, 2024 3:32 pm

inactionman wrote: Thu Aug 22, 2024 2:44 pm It's ultimately only a few bob, and will help with all the expenses incurred in silly season.

Hopefully they spend it on that. I also love when cities have days that are reserved for locals to visit attractions at a reduced price etc, Edinburgh should really look at this.

Anyway, i think it's a great move, the tourist industry has wagged the tail for too long. Now to get rid of 90% of the tat shops.

Biffer wrote: Thu Aug 22, 2024 7:33 pm

Slick wrote: Thu Aug 22, 2024 3:32 pm

inactionman wrote: Thu Aug 22, 2024 2:44 pm It's ultimately only a few bob, and will help with all the expenses incurred in silly season.

Hopefully they spend it on that. I also love when cities have days that are reserved for locals to visit attractions at a reduced price etc, Edinburgh should really look at this.

Anyway, i think it's a great move, the tourist industry has wagged the tail for too long. Now to get rid of 90% of the tat shops.

I assume you're aware Edinburgh Castle did that first Sunday of every month through the winter?

Money set aside for restoring nature is to be diverted into funding wage settlements in Scotland’s local authorities.

The Scottish government said £5m was being redirected to fund the pay offer but added that it would be replaced in future years.

inactionman wrote: Sun Aug 25, 2024 4:26 pm

Money set aside for restoring nature is to be diverted into funding wage settlements in Scotland’s local authorities.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy7p2y1p1eo

The already tiny pot for protecting our natural world has just got smaller. Marvellous.

The Scottish government said £5m was being redirected to fund the pay offer but added that it would be replaced in future years.

Righto.

Paddington Bear wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2024 5:05 pm

Slick wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2024 3:42 pm

Sandstorm wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2024 3:35 pm

What's a cheap rail ticket look like?

They made all tickets at off peak fares for the last few months to try and get people back onto the trains

Whilst still running a shitty reduced service then handwringing as to why people weren’t rushing to the railway. Going through to Edinburgh was a turn up and go every 15 minute service pre-pandemic. When I’ve done it in rush hour recently I am staggered (as a regular London commuter) at just how quiet these services still are.

westport wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2024 7:36 am In addition, Ms Robison proposes diverting £26m from the Flood Risk Management Programme, on the basis the money is not needed by councils this year.

Remember this quote, come November and the first floods hit.

westport wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2024 7:36 am In addition, Ms Robison proposes diverting £26m from the Flood Risk Management Programme, on the basis the money is not needed by councils this year.

Remember this quote, come November and the first floods hit.

Blackmac wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2024 8:44 am Papers leading with how they are thinking of cutting back on the free stuff. Prescriptions, bus passes, uni tuition etc. Hopefully they will go for the blindingly obvious and scrap the kids bus passes. They have been an absolute shitshow and just about made the buses a no go area. Also made it virtually impossible for the bus companies to recruit drivers.
Maybe show a bit of sense and give it to the 18 to 22 years olds instead who would benefit more from free travel, but that's likely asking too much of this lot.

inactionman wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2024 9:09 am

Blackmac wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2024 8:44 am Papers leading with how they are thinking of cutting back on the free stuff. Prescriptions, bus passes, uni tuition etc. Hopefully they will go for the blindingly obvious and scrap the kids bus passes. They have been an absolute shitshow and just about made the buses a no go area. Also made it virtually impossible for the bus companies to recruit drivers.
Maybe show a bit of sense and give it to the 18 to 22 years olds instead who would benefit more from free travel, but that's likely asking too much of this lot.

THe bus passes are an odd one - We've got them for our two (6 and 7) and yet other places just let kids that age travel for free with an adult - London allow 4 under 11s to go free with one fare-paying adult.

They're not going to go on a bus by themselves, obviously, so not sure why we don't just say accompanied kids travel free. It would also stop (well, reduce) unaccompanied teenagers making certain routes a misery.

Disagree about dropping free uni tuition, but I've obviously a vested interest in that.

vball wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2024 11:40 am Having worked for over 40 years and being made redundant in 2 weeks (which I managed to coincide with when I was planning on retiring - senior enough to influence things) I am looking forward to my bus pass. I used it last week while at the Fringe and it was pleasant enough even having to sit with the great unwashed !! I am on tons of drugs so the free drugs are good for me too. Only 1 kid left at Uni and he is in 4th year. My daughter was the only Scot in her floor in her 1st year at Pollock Halls and it is harder for Middle Class Scottish kids to get into Uni as places are going to fee paying (as mentioned already) and socially disadvantaged in many cases.

So in 2 weeks when I go to sign on, will I get any sort of benefit? Doubt it very much but going to go in as I have never been to the Unemployment office in my life. Will be an experience for sure (for me and them) and will try not to make too much of nuisance of myself but I will probably rant and rave (to be in line with the others ranting and raving). I would think over 40 years of working would give me something. I only went to Uni in my mid-30s as my company paid for a part-time MBA. I was the first in my entire family line to go onto Further Education.

Yes the money for ScotGovt needs to come from some place (UK and their own revenue streams). They only have so much to play with and it is hard to balance for sure. Yes people who cannot afford should get more than those that can afford. Yes people who earn more should pay more taxes and get less for free. Cannot believe I am saying this as I am probably the most right-wing person in Scotland (since my sister moved to Berwick upon Tweed to avoid the Tartan Tax).

vball wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2024 4:01 pm
Maybe I can stack shelves - I did when at school !!

Blackmac wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2024 9:38 am

inactionman wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2024 9:09 am

Blackmac wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2024 8:44 am Papers leading with how they are thinking of cutting back on the free stuff. Prescriptions, bus passes, uni tuition etc. Hopefully they will go for the blindingly obvious and scrap the kids bus passes. They have been an absolute shitshow and just about made the buses a no go area. Also made it virtually impossible for the bus companies to recruit drivers.
Maybe show a bit of sense and give it to the 18 to 22 years olds instead who would benefit more from free travel, but that's likely asking too much of this lot.

THe bus passes are an odd one - We've got them for our two (6 and 7) and yet other places just let kids that age travel for free with an adult - London allow 4 under 11s to go free with one fare-paying adult.

They're not going to go on a bus by themselves, obviously, so not sure why we don't just say accompanied kids travel free. It would also stop (well, reduce) unaccompanied teenagers making certain routes a misery.

Disagree about dropping free uni tuition, but I've obviously a vested interest in that.

I think the SNP went all in with this stuff in the hope of bribing their way to independence. It was always clearly unsustainable. The prescription one is odd as they make such a big thing about it but the reality in the rest of the UK is that the vast majority of prescriptions are free anyway.

Kids bus passes should definitely be better targeted. Pensioner bus travel should definitely be benefit based and I think many of us wouldn't mind paying for irregular prescriptions if the money was used wisely. My girls benefited enormously from the free uni tuition but it increasingly seems to be that there are less and less places available to Scottish students due to the increasing requirement for overseas fees. My mates daughter is currently one of only two Scots in an international business class full of Chinese students.

Simian wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 9:07 am

Blackmac wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2024 9:38 am

inactionman wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2024 9:09 am

THe bus passes are an odd one - We've got them for our two (6 and 7) and yet other places just let kids that age travel for free with an adult - London allow 4 under 11s to go free with one fare-paying adult.

They're not going to go on a bus by themselves, obviously, so not sure why we don't just say accompanied kids travel free. It would also stop (well, reduce) unaccompanied teenagers making certain routes a misery.

Disagree about dropping free uni tuition, but I've obviously a vested interest in that.

I think the SNP went all in with this stuff in the hope of bribing their way to independence. It was always clearly unsustainable. The prescription one is odd as they make such a big thing about it but the reality in the rest of the UK is that the vast majority of prescriptions are free anyway.

Kids bus passes should definitely be better targeted. Pensioner bus travel should definitely be benefit based and I think many of us wouldn't mind paying for irregular prescriptions if the money was used wisely. My girls benefited enormously from the free uni tuition but it increasingly seems to be that there are less and less places available to Scottish students due to the increasing requirement for overseas fees. My mates daughter is currently one of only two Scots in an international business class full of Chinese students.

Having recently been involved in producing a report on the impact of overseas students on the Scottish University teaching capacity, the it’s absolutely clear that overseas students are creating places (capacity) for Scottish students. It’s categorically not the case that they are taking Scottish students’ places. (Overseas student income is also absolutely critical to funding research infrastructure. Without it, Scottish research would have absolutely ground to a halt and our best researchers left, particularly given the huge loss of ERC funding while the post Brexit shit show stopped us accessing ERC funding).

vball wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 10:01 am I understand how Overseas Student incomes is needed. But how does it create more places for Scottish Students? Is it because the Overseas Funding allows more lecturers, etc?

Biffer wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 10:55 am

vball wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 10:01 am I understand how Overseas Student incomes is needed. But how does it create more places for Scottish Students? Is it because the Overseas Funding allows more lecturers, etc?

Because the Scottish students aren't fully funded by ScotGov, so the difference needs to be made up from a surplus elsewhere. That's usually coming from overseas students.

Simian wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 9:07 am

Blackmac wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2024 9:38 am

inactionman wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2024 9:09 am

THe bus passes are an odd one - We've got them for our two (6 and 7) and yet other places just let kids that age travel for free with an adult - London allow 4 under 11s to go free with one fare-paying adult.

They're not going to go on a bus by themselves, obviously, so not sure why we don't just say accompanied kids travel free. It would also stop (well, reduce) unaccompanied teenagers making certain routes a misery.

Disagree about dropping free uni tuition, but I've obviously a vested interest in that.

I think the SNP went all in with this stuff in the hope of bribing their way to independence. It was always clearly unsustainable. The prescription one is odd as they make such a big thing about it but the reality in the rest of the UK is that the vast majority of prescriptions are free anyway.

Kids bus passes should definitely be better targeted. Pensioner bus travel should definitely be benefit based and I think many of us wouldn't mind paying for irregular prescriptions if the money was used wisely. My girls benefited enormously from the free uni tuition but it increasingly seems to be that there are less and less places available to Scottish students due to the increasing requirement for overseas fees. My mates daughter is currently one of only two Scots in an international business class full of Chinese students.

Having recently been involved in producing a report on the impact of overseas students on the Scottish University teaching capacity, the it’s absolutely clear that overseas students are creating places (capacity) for Scottish students. It’s categorically not the case that they are taking Scottish students’ places. (Overseas student income is also absolutely critical to funding research infrastructure. Without it, Scottish research would have absolutely ground to a halt and our best researchers left, particularly given the huge loss of ERC funding while the post Brexit shit show stopped us accessing ERC funding).

Blackmac wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 2:15 pm

Simian wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 9:07 am

Blackmac wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2024 9:38 am

I think the SNP went all in with this stuff in the hope of bribing their way to independence. It was always clearly unsustainable. The prescription one is odd as they make such a big thing about it but the reality in the rest of the UK is that the vast majority of prescriptions are free anyway.

Kids bus passes should definitely be better targeted. Pensioner bus travel should definitely be benefit based and I think many of us wouldn't mind paying for irregular prescriptions if the money was used wisely. My girls benefited enormously from the free uni tuition but it increasingly seems to be that there are less and less places available to Scottish students due to the increasing requirement for overseas fees. My mates daughter is currently one of only two Scots in an international business class full of Chinese students.

Having recently been involved in producing a report on the impact of overseas students on the Scottish University teaching capacity, the it’s absolutely clear that overseas students are creating places (capacity) for Scottish students. It’s categorically not the case that they are taking Scottish students’ places. (Overseas student income is also absolutely critical to funding research infrastructure. Without it, Scottish research would have absolutely ground to a halt and our best researchers left, particularly given the huge loss of ERC funding while the post Brexit shit show stopped us accessing ERC funding).

If that's the reality, then it's very good to hear.

vball wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 3:04 pm I was listening to a R4 programme the other day and it was saying the number of kids going to Uni had risen from about 15% to about 50% now. Cannot remember the date of 15% but I think 1950's ish.
I can only think of a handful of sixth year classmates that went to Uni. Some went to colleges like Napier but many went to Tech Colleges as part of their apprenticeships/jobs.
Maybe too many are going to Uni now.

vball wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 3:04 pm I was listening to a R4 programme the other day and it was saying the number of kids going to Uni had risen from about 15% to about 50% now. Cannot remember the date of 15% but I think 1950's ish.
I can only think of a handful of sixth year classmates that went to Uni. Some went to colleges like Napier but many went to Tech Colleges as part of their apprenticeships/jobs.
Maybe too many are going to Uni now.

robmatic wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 5:49 pm

vball wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 3:04 pm I was listening to a R4 programme the other day and it was saying the number of kids going to Uni had risen from about 15% to about 50% now. Cannot remember the date of 15% but I think 1950's ish.
I can only think of a handful of sixth year classmates that went to Uni. Some went to colleges like Napier but many went to Tech Colleges as part of their apprenticeships/jobs.
Maybe too many are going to Uni now.

I don't think that there are that many apprenticeships on offer these days. Employers don't really like to invest in training.

Biffer wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 5:55 pm

robmatic wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 5:49 pm

vball wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 3:04 pm I was listening to a R4 programme the other day and it was saying the number of kids going to Uni had risen from about 15% to about 50% now. Cannot remember the date of 15% but I think 1950's ish.
I can only think of a handful of sixth year classmates that went to Uni. Some went to colleges like Napier but many went to Tech Colleges as part of their apprenticeships/jobs.
Maybe too many are going to Uni now.

I don't think that there are that many apprenticeships on offer these days. Employers don't really like to invest in training.

People have trouble filling apprenticeships. Babcock were looking for apprentice welders last year for work on the type 26 frigates and ended up recruiting some people in their 40s.

Biffer wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 5:55 pm

robmatic wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 5:49 pm

vball wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 3:04 pm I was listening to a R4 programme the other day and it was saying the number of kids going to Uni had risen from about 15% to about 50% now. Cannot remember the date of 15% but I think 1950's ish.
I can only think of a handful of sixth year classmates that went to Uni. Some went to colleges like Napier but many went to Tech Colleges as part of their apprenticeships/jobs.
Maybe too many are going to Uni now.

I don't think that there are that many apprenticeships on offer these days. Employers don't really like to invest in training.

People have trouble filling apprenticeships. Babcock were looking for apprentice welders last year for work on the type 26 frigates and ended up recruiting some people in their 40s.

Biffer wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 5:55 pm

robmatic wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 5:49 pm

vball wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 3:04 pm I was listening to a R4 programme the other day and it was saying the number of kids going to Uni had risen from about 15% to about 50% now. Cannot remember the date of 15% but I think 1950's ish.
I can only think of a handful of sixth year classmates that went to Uni. Some went to colleges like Napier but many went to Tech Colleges as part of their apprenticeships/jobs.
Maybe too many are going to Uni now.

I don't think that there are that many apprenticeships on offer these days. Employers don't really like to invest in training.

People have trouble filling apprenticeships. Babcock were looking for apprentice welders last year for work on the type 26 frigates and ended up recruiting some people in their 40s.

Dinsdale Piranha wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 8:19 pm

Biffer wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 5:55 pm

robmatic wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 5:49 pm

I don't think that there are that many apprenticeships on offer these days. Employers don't really like to invest in training.

People have trouble filling apprenticeships. Babcock were looking for apprentice welders last year for work on the type 26 frigates and ended up recruiting some people in their 40s.

I posted this last month on another thread -

"A friend recounts a similar situation. He works for an aircraft maintenance/training company in the west of England. A few years ago they were struggling to fill their apprentice slots for helicopter mechanics. They went to the local schools who said 'we don't encourage people in to manual labour'. Similar to above, after 4 years you will be on 50K. That attitude is why we're short of many of the skilled trades"

That company is now part of Babcock.

fishfoodie wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 8:25 pm

Biffer wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 5:55 pm

robmatic wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 5:49 pm

I don't think that there are that many apprenticeships on offer these days. Employers don't really like to invest in training.

People have trouble filling apprenticeships. Babcock were looking for apprentice welders last year for work on the type 26 frigates and ended up recruiting some people in their 40s.

That's to put it mildly, fucking crackers !

Those potential apprentices would have been learning a trade that would have them earning more than a graduate Lawyer or Accountant for a very long time, & with a skill they can practice in any Country they choose.

Someone isn't doing a good job at selling apprenticeships !!

Blackmac wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2024 3:01 pm https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scot ... source=nba

Neil Gray, Health Secretary, caught trying to buy Oasis tickets during Alzheimers panel at SNP conference. They are just not serious people and have no business in government.

Sandstorm wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2024 8:24 pm

Blackmac wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2024 3:01 pm https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scot ... source=nba

Neil Gray, Health Secretary, caught trying to buy Oasis tickets during Alzheimers panel at SNP conference. They are just not serious people and have no business in government.

Scum bag