The Herald

Mccabe: Does Scotland Need Eight Police Forces? 'No Sacred Cows' in Revamp of Public Services

AMASSIVE revamp of publicsector services is being drawn up by Holyrood ministers which would mean radical changes in police and fire services, councils, health boards and enterprise companies. Tom McCabe, finance and public service reform minister, has promised there will be "no sacred cows" when he publishes proposals for discussion early next year.

280 Patients Died with Hospital Infections After Surgery

NEARLY 300 patients died with hospital infections after undergoing surgery in Scotland last year. A study published yesterday found almost a fifth of patients who died after an operation had picked up a bug on the ward.

Blair Ready to Giveway On Uk's Gbp3bn Euro Rebate

TONY Blair yesterday signalled his willingness to give up part of the UK's GBP3bn European Union rebate. In an attempt to break the deadlock over the EU budget, the prime minister indicated that the UK will pay its fair share of the costs of enlargement.

Murray to Sell the Firm He Started with for Gbp112m

DAVID Murray is poised to sell the metal trading business he started 31 years ago. The Rangers chairman is expected to rake in GBP112m from selling Murray International Metals and has indicated the profit will fund a "huge" acquisition later this month.

Spending Fears As Sales Are Worst On Record Shops Hope for Festive Boom

SHOPKEEPERS were yesterday pinning their hopes on a last-minute Christmas spending spree after a record drop in sales over the past year. Both the sales reported for November and expectations for the coming month are the worst recorded in the 22-year history of the CBI's distributive trade survey.

Off the Wall

Shift in Approach Sees End of Drugs Agency

MINISTERS have decided to shut down Scotland Against Drugs, in what is being seen in some quarters as a move towards making addiction a criminal or employment issue, rather than a medical or youth information speciality. The announcement, meant to be made next week, emerged yesterday when parliamentary questions from Michael Matheson of the SNP were answered ahead of schedule.

Herald Editor Leaves

MARK Douglas-Home, editor of The Herald for the past five years, left the post yesterday. His departure was announced in a statement issued by Newsquest (Herald and Times) , owner of the paper and its sister titles, the Sunday Herald and Evening Times.

Sound It Out: Learning to Read in England Will Have a Scots Touch Synthetic Phonics System Goes Nationwide

NEARLY a decade ago, his ambition was modest: to transform literacy at a handful of primary schools in one of the smallest counties in Scotland by championing a radical teaching method to improve reading skills. Yesterday, Steve Trickey, an educational psychologist, was astonished to discover that the remarkable success of synthetic phonics in raising standards in Clackmannanshire since 1998 had helped inf luence one of the most significant shifts in educational policy in the UK in recent times.

Msp Was Terrified On Doorstep

AMEMBER of the Scottish Parliament was terrified when a man confronted him on his own doorstep, a court heard yesterday. Charles Smith, 49, admitted going to the home of Michael McMahon, Bellshill MSP, and threatening him with violence and shouting and swearing.

Lochhead 'Honoured' by Writer-in-Residence Roles

LIZ Lochhead, one of Scotland's leading writers, is to take on a new role at two of the country's finest institutions. Also a translator, playwright and poet, she is to become writer- in-residence at Glasgow School of Art and Glasgow University next year.

Artful Ark

Scotland Against Drugs Shut Down Over Funding

MINISTERS have decided to shut down Scotland Against Drugs, in what is being seen in some quarters as a move towards making addiction a criminal or employment issue, rather than a medical or youth information speciality. The announcement, meant to be made next week, emerged yesterday when parliamentary questions from Michael Matheson of the SNP were answered ahead of schedule.

Kilts From India Are a 'Threat to Scots Workers' Website Denies Charges of 'Cheap and Shoddy' Imports

CLAIMS that companies are passing off kilts made in India as if they were Scottish are to be investigated by the government. The Scottish Tartans Authority, the industry body, said that a f lood of "cheap and shoddy" tartan imports from the Indian sub- continent was putting the livelihoods of some 200 traditional Scottish kilt-makers and weavers at serious risk. It said a cut- price imported acrylic kilt sold at GBP39, whereas a traditionally woven one made from 8yds of quality cloth should c...

Gbp500,000 for Soldier's Art

A SERIES of paintings by an eighteenth century soldier and painter, discovered by chance in Scotland, have sold at a New York auction for more than GBP500,000. The five works by Lieutenant Richard Williams, who served in the British army during the American War of Independence, were handed in to Bonhams, the auctioneer, by an unnamed Scottish couple who found them while clearing out their home.

Mp Raises Fears Over the Future of Rural Post Offices

FEARS for the future of Scotland's rural post offices were raised last night after the government refused to give a guarantee the network would be funded beyond 2008. Danny Alexander, Liberal Democrat MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, said: "There has long been a suspicion that Tony Blair's government is not committed to the rural post office network in the long term. Now that suspicion is turning to real fear."

Turner Rejects Treasury's Doubts Over Pension Plan

GORDON Brown was still questioning the affordability of Lord Turner's plan to overhaul the UK pensions system yesterday as the Pensions Commission chief accused the Treasury of "telling porkies". In an interview, Lord Turner furiously rejected the chancellor's doubts and published a paper to defend and explain the commission's calculations.

Scottish Football Suffering Through Lack of Investment in Youth, Say Msps

MINISTERS are letting Scotland's young football talent down by failing to invest enough cash in youth development, MSPs warned yesterday. The cross-party enterprise and culture committee at Holyrood said it was "disappointed" that the Scottish Executive had contributed just GBP1.2m towards a GBP31.1m project to train young players over the next decade.

Calling Time On Drink-Driving

STREET SENSE: Propping up the bar of the Rovers Return, Alistair Darling, the transport secretary, enjoys a soft drink served by Coronation Street barmaid Shelley Unwin, played by Sally Lindsay, as he launched a campaign to call time on Christmas drink-driving. The campaign is part of a GBP2m antidrinking and driving promotion to run throughout December. It will feature TV adverts underlining the fact many drivers cannot calculate their own drink- drive limits. The government's message will a...

Curran Urges Women-Only Rule for Safe Labour Seats Plan for Gender Balance at Council Polls Scrapped

MEN would be blocked from standing for Labour vacancies at the next Westminster election under a plan set out yesterday by one of the party's leading ministers at Holyrood. However, proposals to force gender balance in the party's representation in councils have been scrapped.