Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Frank Gilfeather: Powers are there but no action taken

Communities Secretary Angela Constance.
Communities Secretary Angela Constance.

Deprivation, the experts remind us, isn’t just about being skint.

It can include fewer resources and opportunities for people in health and education and difficulties in accessing services.

Yet, when the figures on multiple deprivation in Scotland are issued every four years we are always shocked, but never surprised by the usual suspects heading the list.

Nor do we hear anything new on the issue from whoever is running the country at the time.

The Scottish Government says the figures “allow effective analysis for targeting of policies and funding where the aim is to wholly or partly tackle or take account of area concentrations of multiple deprivation.”

If you are one of those struggling to make ends meet, to afford everything from bus fares to spreadable butter, you won’t read that last quote and say: “That makes me feel better.”

Four years ago, we saw the introduction of the Scotland Act 2012 after Calman Commission recommendations like the ability to raise or lower income tax by 10p in the pound were written into law.

Strangely, a Holyrood-based government which purports to look after the needs of the working class, has declined to pull that lever, otherwise the poor of Scotland might not be experiencing the kind of struggle they face today. The Scottish Government said the figures showed “why Scotland needs a government committed to tackling deep-seated deprivation, poverty and inequalities”.

It might have added: “We’re not so committed that we’ll eradicate poverty.”

Communities Secretary Angela Constance, left wanting in her previous role in charge of Scotland’s education, said: “This will not be an easy job while we do not have the full levers of power …”

Let’s be clear, Ms Constance and her buddies have ENOUGH powers NOW to make the difference all right-minded people desire.

Bridge

Bridge to happiness

Might we expect the Tay Road Bridge to become busier than ever?

I ask only because the Bank of Scotland’s annual happiness index – yes, it is involved in such nonsense – shows those living in Dundee are the least cheerful souls in Scotland. Yet, on the other side of the bridge – in Fife – we have the country’s most joyous citizens.

Maybe it’s time Dundonians got out their tickling sticks and headed for the Kingdom for some upbeat company.

Apple shares were down after the fine by European Union regulators
Apple shares were down after the fine by European Union regulators

EU ruling takes bite out of Apple

APPLE was shaken to its core over an EU edict that it pays £11 billion to the Irish government in taxes avoided over the past 25 years.

The Irish government hasn’t been uncomfortable with this, seemingly content with the little they receive from the tech giants.

But were the multi-nationals like Apple to pay their dues in this and other countries, we might not have to worry too much about finding the money to feed and properly house our poor. If only there was a political will to close the loopholes.

 

This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.