Price worth paying

Published on Saturday 25 October 2008 19:27

IT IS an idea so simple, and which offers such life-saving potential, that the most remarkable aspect of it is that it was not implemented long ago.

As we report today, the Scottish Government is to announce a new approach to cancer screening which will involve taking not one image of each breast being checked, but two. By doubling the number of images it is believed 20% more cancers will be detected at an early stage, vastly improving the chances of successful treatment for hundreds of women each year.

When the Health Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, formally announces the improved service tomorrow she will rightly say that the 13.4m cost is a small price to pay for reducing worry and suffering. And she should take the chance to applaud the fine work of the Scottish Breast Screening Programme, which last year checked 166,000 women.

But only a few of those women were checked from two angles; while that is the norm when women first present for screening, three-yearly follow-ups have usually involved taking just one image. Frankly, Scotland has been too slow to adopt the two-image checks, which have been standard in England for four years. This should shame previous Holyrood administrations. Ms Sturgeon, at least, is to right this wrong. She should now ask herself if it is right that England is to extend the ages at which screening is offered, to cover women aged 47 to 73 years, while in Scotland the limits are 50 and 70. This is another failing that needs rectified – immediately.

Gambling on Keynes

SO, IT'S official: we are in a recession. It will take another quarter of negative economic growth for it to be technically so, but the Prime Minister, Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England have all now uttered the R-word. In truth, they had little choice in the face of overwhelming evidence: unemployment, inflation and business failures all up; shares and the pound down; then, on Thursday, came confirmation that GDP had declined between July and September – for the first time in 16 years and by 0.5%.

As we warned last week, most Scots, fearful for their own jobs and homes, already knew that we were heading into recession. Indeed, it had been apparent for some weeks – on August 24 we predicted that "we are effectively in a recession and we had better adapt our mindset to this situation". So, unfortunately, it proved last week for the 400 workers at Inverurie's International Paper Mill, which is set to close. Much more pain will follow, given CBI Scotland's claim that companies are being forced into the largest reduction in investment in 28 years, and after it was revealed that the Gross Value Added from the vital financial sector fell 1.1% in the last quarter. UK retail sales also fell 0.4% in September and, with belts tightening, shop-owners have been warned to expect their toughest Christmas in 20 years.

If Gordon Brown thought he offered us a quantum of solace by saying we were not alone in this global downturn, again he told us something we already knew. Huge, seemingly impermeable, monoliths like Sony, Volvo, Samsung and Xerox are all reporting difficulties, with knock-on effects for their home nations and anywhere they manufacture or sell their products. What is more intriguing is the Prime Minister's assertion that we in Britain are well-placed to ride out the storm and to emerge from recession before other western economies.

As the man who has been in charge of Britain's economy for 11 years, this may be something Brown simply has to say – not least ahead of next month's Glenrothes by-election. But critics are right to accuse him of sleight of hand when he cites national debt as a percentage of GDP, as which it compares favourably with that of other countries. This masks a worrying trend of national indebtedness: as recently as March Alistair Darling revised his estimate of Government borrowing for next year from 36bn to 43bn; but last week we discovered that in the first six months of this year alone it was 37.6bn.

This will soar even higher. Having already earmarked 500bn to save failing banks, the UK Government has made it clear that it will spend Britain's way out of trouble. Darling said that housing, schools, hospitals and energy projects will all be brought forward in an attempt to prop up the job market and inject money into the economy through the construction and retail sectors. Those who keep their jobs and find cash in their pockets this Christmas will care little that most of it will be paid for by increased borrowing. And this Keynesian approach will soften the impact of the downturn on the public.

Darling and Brown can do more: they must also try to keep fuel costs down by persuading Opec not to cut oil production; and, despite Darling's doubts, he and the Prime Minister must pressure the part-nationalised banks to treat struggling customers fairly, especially small firms facing rises in business loans and needing overdraft extensions to stay afloat.

But the increase in public spending is key – and it must pay dividends quickly or we will all be landed with debts so large they could cripple the economy and its taxpayers for years. Brown would do well to remember the words of the last Labour Chancellor who made the step up to Prime Minister in trying economic times. Then, in 1976, James Callaghan warned that "We used to think you could spend your way out of recession by boosting Government spending. I tell you, in all candour, that option no longer exists. And in so far as it did exist, it only worked... by injecting a bigger dose of inflation into the economy, followed by higher unemployment as the next step."

Brown must hope Callaghan was wrong. Only that way can he avoid repeating his predecessor's failure when he is finally judged by the British electorate.

Wha's like us... Nacho Novo?

HE PLAYS with his heart on his sleeve, whether in the blue of Raith Rovers, Dundee or Rangers; he's on the small side for a footballer; and a series of flare-ups has shown that he has a "fuse" as short as his stature.

But however much this might sound like a typical battling Scot, no one could mistake Ignacio Javier Gmez Novo for one of Jock Tamson's bairns. Or could they? It emerged last week that the Spanish striker may one day pull on another, darker blue top – that of Scotland. Having lived here for seven years and having never represented his native land, Novo could play for his adopted home under European residency rules.

It may never happen. The move would be opposed by traditionalists, to say nothing of those Celtic fans for whom Novo's passion for Rangers has made him a hate figure. And, given his rare starts at Ibrox, is he good enough for George Burley's team?

But if he was picked and scored the goal that secured 2010 World Cup qualification, who could help but shout: "Andale pequeito!"? Go on yersel', wee man!