Calls to a national domestic abuse helpline have doubled during lockdown, with experts saying restrictions on movement have created opportunities for perpetrators to exert greater control.

Women’s Aid says there’s been an influx of inquiries to Scotland’s Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage helpline during the pandemic; a third of those specifically mention the impact that coronavirus is having on their lives.

The charity is urging anyone affected to seek help.

Melanie Wood, from Moray Women’s Aid, said: “We have had calls from women hanging out (the) washing, having to make a discreet call to us, women calling from their garage. 

“Some men have been saying ‘I will do the shopping, you and the kids need to stay safe, I will take the bank card’, then the card does not get given back.”

“People haven’t been able to get out to see friends or family or speak to people who might say: ‘That’s not right, you need to do something’.

“It has been a very isolating time for some people.”

Jean experienced domestic abuse for more than twenty years. She says living under the control of her husband affected every aspect of her life.

“I had to report what I was doing, what I was spending, where I was going, everything.   

“I felt the lowest of the low.”

Police Scotland says officers are always on hand to help, and are urging anyone affected to contact them, wherever they may live.

Detective Superintendent Debbie Forrester, who is the lead for Domestic Abuse for Police Scotland, said: “If you feel afraid or you are at risk of abuse or you know someone who is, Covid is not an obstacle, please come forward and we will respond appropriately.”

The number for Scotland’s Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage helpline is 0800 027 1234.

Over the last few weeks, STV has hosted a series of exclusive interviews with the main political party leaders taking part in May’s Holyrood elections.

Next in the series is Alba leader Alex Salmond, who sat down with STV News political editor Colin Mackay to outline the newly-formed party’s message and vision for the country.

Colin Mackay: Alex Salmond, why is Alba needed at this election?

Alex Salmond: In one word: urgency. Urgency about Scottish independence. To re-inject urgency into the independence campaign. That’s the opportunity that Scots have in the list vote in this election. And that’s why Alba is required.

CM: But you say if you get elected you would table a motion instructing the Scottish Government to immediately begin independence negotiations with Westminster. The only MSPs who would back you in that would be Alba MSPs. Nobody else would back you on it, would they?. So it’s meaningless…

AS: Well, it will depend on the result of the election Colin. If Alba get a fair win, then I suspect that you will find the other independence supporting parties will reprioritise their view on independence. Therefore, I expect in two weeks time if I am elected along with other Alba MSPs and we table that motion, we might find support from surprising quarters. But it’s up to the people to vote for Alba to inject the urgency that, I believe, so many want to see in the independence campaign.

CM: But it would be very surprising if SNP MSPs or Green MSPs went along with what you told them to do, wouldn’t it?

AS: Well, why would an independence supporting MSP not want to support a motion injecting urgency into the campaign? Now clearly this is dependent on Alba being elected. If we are elected that’s an indication that the Scottish people want that requisite urgency. Therefore with that wind behind our backs then I’m certain we would get support. I think lots of SNP MSPs would like to see that urgency. I agree I am less certain about the Green Party but they’ve been lukewarm about independence for some considerable time.

CM: But you want the same powers to hold a referendum that you had in 2014. But if Boris Johnson keeps saying no, your manifesto says “you’d consider another plebiscite or another democratic test”. What do you mean by that?

AS: Well, first of all, let’s take Boris Johnson. People keep telling me what an immovable object Boris Johnson will be. I think a puff of wind would blow him over at the present moment. I’m not sure he will be in Downing Street in two weeks’ time, so I don’t think moving Boris Johnson on the independence referendum is going to be as difficult as many people feel it is. But unless you start that process, you’re never going to finish it. In terms of a democratic test, you should keep your options open. You don’t set your ambition for a Section 30 referendum. That’s just an invitation for Whitehall to turn it down.

CM: What do you mean by a plebiscite or another democratic test? Does it mean a wildcat referendum as what the Conservatives would call it?

AS: Well, the Conservatives can call it what they like…

CM: But is that what it means? We’re looking at this election next week. What would a plebiscite or another democratic test mean?

AS: Well, a plebiscite means a referendum organised by the Scottish Parliament. That’s what David Cameron thought I was going to do in 2012 and was one of the reasons why he accepted the idea of the Section 30 referendum. In a negotiation, you don’t always tell the other side what your aims and ambitions are. That’s an invitation for them to say no to you. You have to have other things up your sleeve. Plan B as it is sometimes called. I think you need Plan C, D and E as well when you’re facing down Westminster. But it’s going to be a lot easier to face down Westminster if there’s a substantial majority, a supermajority of independence supporting MSPs.

CM: Because you didn’t have a plan B when it came to currency the last time you were asked. But this is something you do have a Plan B on?…

AS: Well, I think it’s best to go into negotiation and get…

CM: But you’re not going into the negotiations…

AS: Well, one of the arguments that Alba are making is we should make this a negotiation conducted by the Parliament, not by a single political party. I think it would be a mistake to allow Boris Johnson to say this is SNP against the Tories; Prime Minister against First Minister, there should be a massive supermajority in the Scottish Parliament, representing the Scottish nation. That’s how this debate should be cast if we want to win it.

CM: Have you got a bet on Alba at this election?

AS: Well, I haven’t managed to do that yet. I saw that we’ve come down and overtaken, I think it’s the Greens and the Liberal Party is potentially the most seats after the SNP in the odds. And the odds still look quite attractive to me. So who knows Colin, I may well do before polling day.

CM: But of all the polls, there’s only one pollster suggesting that you’re going to get any seats at all. You must be kind of disappointed by that?

AS: Well, not quite right. The Times poll suggested we pick up a seat in the Highlands and Islands. But the latest poll, the panel-based poll…

CM: That was a very small sample in the Highlands and Islands, which isn’t properly representative. There’s only one poll across Scotland suggesting you’re going to get any MSPs at all…

AS: I’m not putting my faith in opinion polls. I’m putting it in the communities of Scotland and the reaction that Alba’s getting. I think Alba is rising. And I think next week the results will bear that out.

CM: Last month, you were trying to bring Nicola Sturgeon down. Now you seem to be suggesting that if you vote for the SNP you will strengthen her position. Doesn’t seem terribly plausible does it; one month trying to bring her down, the next month trying to boost her up.

AS: No, I explicitly was asked at the Scottish Parliament Committee, did I think she should resign and I said no and that was always my position. I thought that other people would be more in the line of criticism. And indeed they were; that was never my ambition. But listen this election is about the national, not about the personal, this is about the future of Scotland and everybody should be able to put personal issues behind them and concentrate on Scotland’s future.

CM: You said Scotland’s leaders had failed. Nicola Sturgeon is the First Minister. Was the First Minister at that time, (when you said that), you think she’s failed…

AS: I said that a number of institutions in Scottish society including the Scottish Government, the Permanent Secretary including the Crown Office where the leadership had failed. I said the institutions hadn’t failed, the leadership had failed. But I think it’s time for that leadership in the direction of independence, which is why Alba exists, to inject urgency into the independence campaign.

CM: Now if you do get elected, you’d be working in the same parliament where a number of the women who accused you of sexual assault work. That could be awkward for you but that could be utterly hellish for them.

AS: Well, I think the electorate will judge who does and who doesn’t serve in the Parliament. Just as the jury gave a verdict in the criminal trial over a year ago. And I think once the verdict is in everybody – everybody – should just accept it.

CM: You don’t care how awkward that is for them then?

AS: I care about lots of things Colin. But I also accept the verdicts of juries. And the overwhelming message I get is people want to see that whole episode behind us and want to move on to talk about the future of Scotland. That’s what I’m going to do and I hope everybody will do the same.

CM: Thanks for joining us on Scotland Tonight.

AS: Great pleasure Colin.

Lesley Earl says she lives in constant pain. 

The nursery nurse from Kilmarnock is unable to work full time because she requires a knee replacement.

A pre-op was due to take place last May with the surgery itself scheduled for June.

But when the first wave of coronavirus hit, all elective surgery was cancelled as the NHS went onto an emergency footing to handle the pandemic.

Nearly a year on, Lesley, 55, still doesn’t know when she’ll have her surgery.

STV News

“I got a letter saying they can’t guarantee me a set date or time because of the pandemic,” she says.

“I’m just waiting and hoping. I’m down to working one day a week because I can’t do any more. It’s just sickening.”

Health services will always be a major issue for voters as they head into an election.

Over the next parliament, the NHS will have to cope with the huge backlog of appointments it was forced to cancel as it dealt with Covid.

So, how long is the waiting list and what can be done to catch up?

‘Redesign to recover’

Professor Michael Griffin, from the Royal College of Surgeons, believes it could take many years to reduce the backlog.

“We need a radical rethink, we have to redesign to recover,” he says. “We’re very worried about the workforce, whether that be surgeons, trainees or nursing staff in theatres and on the wards. They are exhausted, and their wellbeing is absolutely paramount.

“We don’t know if there will be more pandemics in the future so we have think differently and make sure the NHS is fit for purpose.  

“We had to cancel all elective surgery and that can never happen again.”

‘We need a staff recovery’

The Royal College of Anaesthetists says its members have played a central role in providing routine and critical care during the pandemic.

Across Scotland, they stepped up to treat the sickest Covid-19 patients while helping to maintain cancer, maternity and other urgent services.  

“We can’t have a health service recovery without a staff recovery,” says Dr Daphne Varveris, chair of the RCoA’s Scottish board.

“Prior to the pandemic, there was low morale and general fatigue, especially among anaesthetists in training.

“Post-pandemic our research shows one in five is considering leaving the profession.”

‘Sometimes you need a crisis to make real change’

Dr Sahira Dar, a GP in Glasgow’s Pollokshields, isn’t expecting the NHS to “bounce back quickly” and instead believes a five to ten-year recovery plan is needed.

“Even if we bounce back, what do we go back to?” she says. “A service that was already strained? Sometimes you need a crisis to make real change and maybe this is the crisis that we needed to make that change.”

STV News

Her GP practice has dealt with a high number of Covid cases in the last year, but managing other chronic conditions including diabetes and heart disease is also part of the daily workload. 

“The issues at the top are just being filtered down to community level and, being at grassroots level, we are picking up the pieces,” says Dr Dar. “We are now seeing diabetics who haven’t called us for a year, their blood tests are overdue, so we are playing catch up. 

“Covid has really put the health inequalities we face under the microscope. GPs working full time in this environment it is not sustainable. They will burn out because of the complexity and the amount of clinical issues and chronic diseases.”

At Grantown Medical Practice in Grantown on Spey, staff quickly adapted to install video technology they now rely for many of their consultations.

Dr Chris Williams from the surgery says: “Communication infrastructure in rural areas is generally worse and the teams are smaller, so when you are faced with staff absence, when people are self-isolating, this can have a big impact on the practice.

STV News

“We have long called for a workforce plan that deals seriously with general practice staffing. We’ve got a good workforce out there, we need to bolster it.”

‘We need investment’

From her dental practice in Livingston, Emma-Louise Colvin describes working life as “nowhere near normal”.

Staffing and investment must be a priority, she believes, especially after a generation of new dentists were delayed from beginning their careers due to the pandemic.

“As graduations were postponed, we don’t have the new graduates to take on the jobs that will be available and that will impact on practices,” she says. “NHS dentistry was underfunded before the pandemic and the current model is outdated.

“To help treat patients, we have to focus on prevention and, to do that, we need investment.”

What are the parties pledging?

SNP

• Give NHS staff an average 4% pay rise;
• Abolish NHS dentistry charges.

Scottish Labour

• Establish Rapid Diagnostic Centres for cancer in every health board;
• To urgently invest to upgrade NHS systems and facilities.

Scottish Conservatives

• Invest £40m in staff wellbeing;
• Increase student places for medicine and nursing.

Scottish Greens

• Increase nurse salaries by 12.5%;
• Commit at least 11% of health spending to general practice.

Scottish Liberal Democrats

• Train more mental health specialists;
• Scrap current ’12-week wait’ letters

Scots heading out to celebrate the May Day weekend are being urged to stay safe and stick to the coronavirus rules.

With pubs, restaurants, cafes and non-essential shops back open for business, NHS workers would like to remind everyone that Covid-19 is still a threat.  

Jeni Nelson, a staff nurse at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI), said: “We want people to enjoy themselves and it’s good that things are opening back up and people can socialise, but we really want people to bear in mind the Covid-19 rules and that Covid is still very much affecting lots of families and lots of people.

“And it’s certainly still affecting the hospital.”

STV News

Monday marked the biggest raft of changes made in Scotland since the country went back into lockdown on Boxing Day.

Some Scots were up at the crack of dawn to start their shopping, with one person arriving to queue at Glasgow’s Argyle Street Primark store at 4.30am.

Libraries, gyms, swimming pools, and visitor attractions such as museums and art galleries can also now reopen as the country moved to level three of the Scottish Government’s five-tier Covid alert system.

Hospitality can open until 8pm indoors – but no alcohol can be served – and 10pm outdoors, where alcohol can be consumed.

Macdonald Media via Braehead Shopping Centre

Up to six people from two households can meet indoors to socialise in a cafe, bar or restaurant, but indoor socialising at home is still prohibited.

Funerals and weddings – including post-funeral events and receptions – can now take place with up to 50 people and alcohol permitted.

Travel between Scotland, England and Wales is now allowed and tourist accommodation can welcome visitors back, although some restrictions remain in place for self-catering holidays.

STV News

Claire Chernouski, a physician associate within the ARI emergency department, added: “Hospitality are working so hard to open up safely, so our message would be please abide by their rules, remember your face coverings, remember your social distancing, and remember you’re not allowed indoors in people’s houses at the moment so that still has to wait.”

Scots head to the polls in a week’s time following a campaign trail dominated by independence and Covid recovery.

But are these the main issues concerning voters on the ground as they prepare to visit the ballot boxes?

Scotland Tonight visited a newly reopened beer garden in Edinburgh in the search for answers about what really matters.

A Roman head sculpture and a replica distance stone have been installed at a world heritage site in West Dumbartonshire as part of a £2.1m project. 

The Antonine Wall, part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site, was the northernmost frontier barrier of the Roman Empire.

Spanning around 63km, the barrier lies across the central belt and is one of two ‘great walls’ created by the Romans in the UK, the other being Hadrian’s Wall. 

The Rediscovering the Antonine Wall project is a partnership of five local authorities and Historic Environment Scotland, led by West Dunbartonshire Council, delivering a wide range of community-led projects along the line of the wall. 

The £2.1m project aims to raise awareness of the Antonine Wall World Heritage Site among local communities and give them the opportunity to explore their Roman heritage.

The replica of the distance stone was produced in partnership with City of Glasgow College which gave stonemasonry students the opportunity to carve a replica based on the original.

The original distance stone was found at nearby Arniebog, by Westerwood Fort in 1868 and is now in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. 

Distance stones are highly decorated stone sculptures offering a dedication to a Roman Emperor and marking the distance of the wall completed. 

The metal sculpture of a Roman soldier’s head was designed by artist Svetlana Kondakova and Big Red Blacksmiths. 

It looks out from the line of the Antonine Wall across the Kelvin Valley towards what the Romans considered ‘barbarian’ territory, beyond the edge of the Roman Empire.

Emma McMullen, Antonine Wall project manager, said: “We are delighted to launch the replica distance stone and sculpture to raise awareness of the area’s Roman heritage amongst the local community and for visitors to Croy Hill. 

“The unique partnership with City of Glasgow College has added significant value in terms of proving opportunities for the students involved and the sculpture is already proving to be a draw to the local area, putting the Antonine Wall at Croy Hill firmly on the map.”

The next Scottish government is being warned it must not delay the introduction of a deposit return scheme for drinks cans and bottles, with campaigners claiming 3.4 billion of them have been “wasted” since the move was first announced.

In 2019 alone, the most recent year for which figures are available, 920.2 million empty drinks containers in Scotland ended up either as litter or being sent to landfill or incinerated, a report found.

That figure comes from Reloop, an international non-profit organisation specialising in resource and waste policy.

It has prompted calls for the next government to ensure plans for a deposit return scheme, due to begin in July 2022, are not delayed any further.

Reloop’s research found that in Scotland in 2019, 437.4 million cans, 334.9 million PET plastic bottles and 147.9 million glass bottles were littered, dumped in landfill or incinerated – although the real figure could be even higher as the data does not include empty wine and spirits containers.

Based on that, campaigners have calculated that 3.4 billion cans and bottles have been wasted in the 1,332 days since the deposit return scheme was announced.

Under the scheme, shoppers pay an additional charge when buying drinks in cans and bottles and these fees are refunded when they return the empties for recycling.

But with the scheme not due to begin for over a year, campaigners estimate a further 1.1 billion cans and bottles will be wasted in that time.

The annual figure for empty drinks containers being littered, landfilled or incinerated amounts to 168 cans and bottles for every person in Scotland – with only Portugal, Greece and Hungary performing worse in this regard in 2017.

In contrast, Germany introduced deposit return in 2003 and an average of just 10 containers are wasted a year for every person.

If Scotland’s deposit return scheme is as effective as European initiatives, campaigners claim the average number of cans and bottles going to waste could drop from 920.2 million a year to 204.8 million.

John Mayhew, director of the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland, which is running the Have You Got The Bottle? campaign, said the new figures are a “shot across the bows of anyone in industry or politics who wants to try to delay our deposit return system still further”.

He added: “Parliament gave ministers the power to act on this vast source of waste and litter back in 2009, and any further delay is simply unacceptable.

“The big retailers have done well out of the pandemic. They know how to take cans and bottles back, because they already do it in eight countries across the European Union.

“Similarly, it’s time for producers to step up and take responsibility for their products as soon as possible, as many of them now accept they must.”

Mr Agnew said the scale of the litter problem Scotland faces “must now be obvious to everyone”, as he urged the next Scottish government to “act as quickly as possible to confirm there will be no further delays to deposit return”.

Reloop executive director Samantha Harding said its analysis had “established for the first time the substantial scale of drinks containers wasted across Scotland”.

She added: “The problems shown in this data indicate that Scotland is still aligned with the other European countries which have not yet adopted deposit return – the only system proven to deliver a significant reduction in the number of cans and bottles wasted, while also securing the highest volume of the best quality materials for recycling.

“Modern deposit systems are most often set up within 12 months, so we would recommend the next Scottish government moves as quickly as possible when implementing this fundamental circular economy measure.

“Until deposits come in, Scotland is destined to remain amongst the worst-performing countries in Europe in terms of wastage and the pollution that entails.”

A billion-year-old fossil which could prove a new link in the evolution of animals has been found in the Highlands.

Scientists led by the University of Sheffield and the US’s Boston College found the microfossil at Loch Torridon in north-west Scotland.

The fossil – described and formally named Bicellum Brasieri in a research paper published in Current Biology – contains two distinct cell types and could be the earliest multicellular animal ever recorded.

Professor Charles Wellman is one of the lead investigators of the research from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Animal and Plant Sciences.

He said: “The origins of complex multicellularity and the origin of animals are considered two of the most important events in the history of life on Earth, our discovery sheds new light on both of these.

“We have found a primitive spherical organism made up of an arrangement of two distinct cell types, the first step towards a complex multicellular structure, something which has never been described before in the fossil record.

“The discovery of this new fossil suggests to us that the evolution of multicellular animals had occurred at least one billion years ago and that early events prior to the evolution of animals may have occurred in freshwater like lakes rather than the ocean.”

The fossil reveals new insight into the transition of single-celled organisms to complex multicellular animals.

Its “exceptional preservation” allowed the scientists to analyse it at a cellular and subcellular level.

The team now hopes to examine the deposits from Torridonian for more interesting fossils which could provide further insight into the evolution of multicellular organisms.

Professor Paul Strother, lead investigator of the research from Boston College, said: “Biologists have speculated that the origin of animals included the incorporation and repurposing of prior genes that had evolved earlier in unicellular organisms.

“What we see in Bicellum is an example of such a genetic system, involving cell-cell adhesion and cell differentiation that may have been incorporated into the animal genome half a billion years later.”

Children in Scotland read longer and more challenging books during school closures in the past year, a report has found.

Experts said having more time to read allowed pupils to “immerse themselves in literature”, as survey results showed more children were reading for pleasure and deriving more enjoyment from books.

The findings are contained in the annual “What Kids are Reading” report by learning group Renaissance.

It analysed the reading habits of more than 1.1 million pupils across the UK and Ireland, including 46,722 Scottish youngsters.

It found Scots pupils in primary one were reading a larger variety of books than their English counterparts, and Scottish primary twos in particular were reading books intended for children almost two years older.

Overall, primary school children developed their reading levels further than secondary school pupils, it adds.

The report also showed that despite a slump at the beginning of 2020, during school closures in the first lockdown starting in March last year, more than half (56%) of pupils said they enjoyed reading very much (24%) or quite a lot (32%).

Almost seven in 10 said they had read more fiction during lockdown, with adventure stories by far the most popular genre, it adds.

Also contained in the report is a survey by the National Literacy Trust of more than 4,100 pupils across the UK.

Three in five said reading had made them feel better during lockdown, while almost one third said it had helped them when they felt sad because they could not see friends or family.

Professor Keith Topping, who specialises in education at the University of Dundee, welcomed the findings.

He said: “During the lockdown overall, pupils were tending to read longer books of greater difficulty and with greater comprehension. Having more time to read gave children the chance to immerse themselves in literature and schools should encourage more reading time now that they are open again.

“It is great to see that primary age children are reading more difficult books and this should be reflected at secondary school age where book difficulty this year plateaued.

“Secondary schools need to encourage their pupils to attack more difficult books.”

During the first lockdown, One Of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus and Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban by JK Rowling were the most favoured books by secondary and primary school pupils respectively.

According to National Literacy Trust data, nearly half of pupils (46%) said they had read new books, while one in seven said they had opened a book they had not encountered before.

Renaissance director John Moore said: “Lockdown has been difficult for many children, especially when schools were closed and they could not access school libraries or see their friends.

“Knowing that reading really helped younger children to feel better throughout the pandemic is very encouraging. It’s promising to see that when pupils had a choice of books to hand, many chose a more challenging book, and one that perhaps allows for more escapism.”

A ten-kilo gold coin has been produced by the Royal Mint, which is the biggest in its 1100-year history.

It took 400 hours to produce the coin, described by the Mint as a “masterwork”, including four days of polishing.

The huge coin has already been sold. The Mint did not give details about the sale or purchaser, but said that a coin of this calibre and craftsmanship would be priced in the region of six figures.

The 20cm-wide coin was created by a team of master craftspeople at the Royal Mint, combining traditional skills with innovative technology.

Modern techniques were used at the start of the process, with engraving machines used to carefully cut the design on to the coin, which has a denomination of £10,000.

A master toolmaker then hand-worked the coin, removing any marks made by the cutting process, before four days of polishing. Finally, the coin was laser-frosted to texture the surface, completing 400 hours of work.

For those whose budgets would not have stretched in any case to purchase the £10,000 denomination gold masterwork, versions of the design are available in a range of finishes, with prices starting at £13 for a £5 denomination brilliant uncirculated coin.

The coin marks the conclusion of the Mint’s Queen’s Beasts commemorative coin collection. The series takes its inspiration from ten stone statues that lined the Queen’s route to Westminster Abbey at her coronation in 1953.

Starting with the Lion of England in 2017, the collection has showcased the history and symbolism of each creature in turn.

The coin reunites all ten beasts in one design, also including a lion, griffin, falcon, bull, yale, greyhound, dragon, unicorn and a horse.

Royal Mint via

Clare Maclennan, divisional director of commemorative coin at the Royal Mint, said: “We are delighted to unveil a Royal Mint first with the creation of the UK’s largest coin to celebrate the conclusion of our Queen’s Beasts commemorative coin collection.

“It is the latest in our Masterworks series, which offer unique works of art for collectors, exclusively from The Royal Mint.

“The Royal Mint’s Queen’s Beasts commemorative coin collection has grown in popularity since the first beast was introduced in 2017 and has become a firm favourite amongst coin collectors across the globe.

“This coin sets a new standard for minting – combining centuries old techniques with innovative technology to create a unique and beautiful work of art.

“It is the largest coin ever created by The Royal Mint, and is testament to the expertise, craftsmanship and skill of our team.”

More information can be found here.