Fact-check: Will Scottish pensioners really be funding English social care?
More or Less

Fact-check: Will Scottish pensioners really be funding English social care?

B2Upper-intermediateOctober 14, 202629 min

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: (00:40) First Minister John Swinney has claimed that Scottish pensioners are set to lose £2000, with the money going to fund English social care. We gently suggest he might like to consider the existence of the Barnett formula, and explain that, when you do, the picture looks very different. (06:08 ) The Liberal Democrats have dug out data on maternity injuries that they claim is ‘a shocking indictment of our NHS maternity services’. We explore flaws in their analysis and ask an expert what a better source of da...

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devastating indictment of NHS maternity services and boasts from the Chief Secretary to the

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But we're not just scrutinising politicians here. We also present highlights from my interview

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0:00

Hello and welcome to The Last in this series of More or Less with me, Tim Harford. And have we got a treat for you. We examine complaints from the Scottish Government about changes to the triple lock, and claims from the Liberal Democrats that have produced a devastating indictment of NHS maternity services and boasts from the Chief Secretary to the

0:20

Treasury about what heroic efforts the Government is making to reduce the deficit. But we're not just scrutinising politicians here. We also present highlights from my interview with a fellow who's reputed to be the most intelligent person on the planet. And even better, the stats behind the musical fruit that is the humble baked bean.

0:40

First, there's nothing more likely to provoke a row in British politics, except perhaps for an MP claiming parliamentary expenses for a floating duck island, than changes to pensions. And sure enough, Andy Burnham's proposal to modify the pension triple lock in order to help pay for social care in England has led to everything kicking off.

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