The NHS at 60

12:03am Wednesday 7th May 2008

The 60th anniversary of the National Health Service is to be marked with a series of celebrations marking dedicated service and pioneering treatments. Nevertheless, the burning issue at this birthday party will be how long the founding principle of a universal service free at the point of need can continue. Health economics have their own set of rules. Any universal service becomes a spiral of increasing demand. Advances in treatment such as new surgical techniques and new drugs increase costs, but also increase demand. Because improved treatment means people live longer, they need more healthcare in old age.

Crisis and opportunity

12:03am Wednesday 7th May 2008

When the 12ft tidal wave whipped up by Cyclone Nargis swept in across the Irrawaddy delta on Saturday, the people had nowhere to run. Aerial views of the area have since shown ruined rice fields choked with their bodies. It is likely that the final death toll will exceed 50,000. This would make it the most deadly storm since the Bangladesh cyclone of 1991, which claimed 138,000 lives. (By comparison, Hurricane Katrina killed just over 1800.) Regardless of other pressing priorities, the international community must mobilise a massive aid effort to save the survivors. Having failed to deliver anything approaching early warning of this catastrophe, the Burmese government's response to it has been painfully inadequate. Generally speaking, democratically elected governments handle emergencies better than non-elected ones because the alternative is political suicide. Burma's generals are not answerable to anyone and their normal instinct would be to deny or understate the emergency. Such is the scale of this catastrophe that, in contrast to the aftermath of the 2004 Asian tsunami, the junta admits it needs international help. The outside world must grab this opportunity with all possible speed, not only out of simple humanity but also because the silver lining could be ultimate regime change.

School lottery

12:02am Tuesday 6th May 2008

Could there be a green eye shade and leather waistcoat in the welcome pack for a leafy suburb property in future? One of the reasons parents move into such areas is to secure a quality education for their children in a top-performing school. The popularity of such schools tends to mean that places are at a premium. There is already an element of gambling in buying into a leafy suburb if the property is not in the school catchment, if within the relevant local authority boundaries. In these circumstances, parents can make a placing request for a child or children and can appeal the decision of the council if it goes against them.

Dwindling return

12:02am Tuesday 6th May 2008

Abolishing the council tax and replacing it with local income tax (LIT) was a central plank of the SNP's election manifesto last May. Its popular appeal was fairness: council services would be funded by levying an extra 3p on the standard rate of income tax and therefore based on an ability to pay. One year on there is considerable confusion about whether it could be implemented as well as how it would work. It is not surprising, therefore, that the latest opinion poll conducted by System Three shows that almost one-third of Scots don't know whether they support or oppose a local income tax.

On the wrong track

12:25am Monday 5th May 2008

As England and Wales adjusted to the new political landscape following Labour's drubbing in the local elections, the thorniest issue in Scottish politics was thrust back into the centre of debate by the leader of the Labour Party in the Scottish Parliament, Wendy Alexander. Bring on the referendum on independence, she challenged the SNP, claiming that its commitment to bringing a referendum bill before the Scottish Parliament in 2010 is too slow a timetable. The idea of shooting the fox by getting the issue of the referendum out of the way has obvious tactical attractions for Labour, but will be regarded as political point-scoring rather than effective opposition by the public.

By EDITORIAL COMMENT

A waste of resources

12:24am Monday 5th May 2008

The job of midwife involves responsibility for two lives: that of mother and baby. The rewards are in the huge satisfaction in bringing new life safely into the world, rather than financial; therefore, it requires considerable commitment, as well as knowledge, skill and the personal qualities that impart confidence to women in labour. Nevertheless, students, whose average age is 27, undertake three years of training to qualify for this demanding job, with increasing numbers giving up salaries to live on a bursary of less than £6500 a year.

By EDITORIAL COMMENT

Warning signs

12:21am Saturday 3rd May 2008

An unalloyed disaster. That was how Professor John Curtice, the renowned psephologist, yesterday described Labour's performance in Thursday's English and Welsh local elections. Gordon Brown, who has overseen Labour's worst election result in decades less than a year after becoming Prime Minister, said the result was bad and disappointing. It is Professor Curtice's brutal assessment that will resonate with the public at large. Labour lost more than 300 councillors and fared particularly badly in heartland areas. If Labour wins only 24% of the vote, the party will finish in third place behind the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives were the big winners on Thursday, gaining more than 250 seats.

A small victory

12:21am Saturday 3rd May 2008

The Armadale experiment may yet go down in history as a turning point in Scotland's battle with booze. In any event, it will be difficult to ignore the statistics from the West Lothian town where, for the past six weeks, no-one under 21 has been able to buy alcohol from off-licences between 5pm and 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays. As the pilot period draws to a close, the interim report shows the number of calls to the police reporting assaults or vandalism by youths has more than halved.

School closures

12:41am Friday 2nd May 2008

The closure of a rural school is never a decision that should be taken quickly or lightly. It is very unlikely to reopen and its demise can rip the heart from a small community, especially if it is the only public building. Scottish Government proposals published yesterday for the country's 1000 rural schools are designed to ensure that the voices of parents and residents are given the hearing they deserve. They would confer what amounts to a legal presumption against closure.

Money matters

12:41am Friday 2nd May 2008

When One Plus, the charity which provided services for lone parents in the west of Scotland, went into liquidation last year it had a turnover of £11m and 800 employees. Since being set up in 1986, it had helped thousands of lone parents turn their lives around through training and employment and had become the largest organisation for lone parents in Europe, running nurseries and out-of-school care as well as training schemes and advice services. Its failure was disastrous for the families which relied on its services, but the story of One Plus should be a cautionary tale for all charities. Even now, a year after liquidation, several million pounds worth of European money remains unaccounted for in a financial morass involving 80 different funding streams. Funding packages were put together from a variety of sources including local authorities and the European Social Fund, but were paid retrospectively, which resulted in a cash flow problem when regular payments for wages and National Insurance were required. That led to a culture of robbing Peter to pay Paul and eventual collapse.

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