Scottish health boards and the Scottish Government made use of British military assistance in the form of patient transfers by air, PPE fitting and testing, delivery of additional hospital beds and “planning assistant to the Scottish Government”.
Recently, there was quite a controversial article in a Scottish newspaper that angrily claimed that the Ministry of Defence had not given civil assistance in the effort against Coronavirus outside of England, that was not true as we reported the opposite at the time, so I attempted to find out more.
I asked the Ministry of Defence the following question:
“I am looking for information on Military Aid to Civil Authorities (MACA) requests from the period of July 2019 to July 2020. Specifically, I am looking for details such as date and a summary of the request regarding requests from Scottish NHS trusts or the Scottish Government and whether or not they were accepted or rejected. For rejected requests I would also like the reasons why those requests were rejected.”
Below is a table showing all requests.
Not that this is a bad or unusual thing, Scotland is part of the UK and is obviously entitled to the use of what Scottish taxpayers fund.
Remember, the key here is not to believe every sensationalist headline you see.
Hi folks hope are all well.
Interesting, wonder what the SNP make of this matter? Haven’t seen mutch if anything from the SNP supporting the UK military in the assistance they have delivered. Wonder how they would cope when or if independence is achivied, would a Scottish defence force have the assets to assist?
Cheers
George
The SNP won’t say anything if it doesn’t fit their twisted narrative.
Here we go again….. The ‘Scotland’ word gets mentioned and half the posters on here get ‘triggered’…. let the hate out guys, let it all out….
Hi Andy. Hope you are well. For me it is not about hate. I love Scotland as a lowland Scot by blood and heritage. But the SNP’s primary, maybe sole purpose it to destroy my country, the United Kingdom and leave me a stateless person. Breaking up the worlds most succesful Union in my opinion would be an insane act of self destruction that would diminish everyone in the 4 Nations. Scotland has a strong identity within the UK. Of course she could fund her own(diminished) military but to what end? Sturgeon, an able and I am sure sincere politician… Read more »
Hi Geoff, sorry for late reply, I was away camping yesterday into today. I don’t disagree, I’m no fan of the SNP, both for their hell bent intention of independence (despite finances suggesting it will make the people living in Scotland worse off) and for their out and out nanny state-ism. The SNP aren’t Scotland, despite what they say or wish. Fair play to the site owners, they know there will normally be a high post count whenever Scotland gets mentioned, rants aplenty. As part of the MAJORITY of Scots who voted to stay in the UK, it just grates… Read more »
Thanks Andy. Nice to hear from you and hope the weather was good for your trip! Agree with your sentiments and unfortunately the hostility from both extremes and those who dont think about the consequences of a breakup before they speak, tends to ramp up the aggro in both camps! As a student in the 1960’s my best friend was a ScotNat and we discussed and argued the point with never any bad feelings between us. Sadly, reasoned debate is a rare commodity nowdays.
Cheers
Morning Geoff, aye, I enjoy discussing politics, more so with those who have a different opinion as you might come away with something you hadn’t considered etc. Sadly for many its just a case of digging a trench, climbing in it and then taking pot shots at anyone in a different trench. Its just so counter productive. It makes me think that its all about people getting their ‘rant on’, it might be cathartic but its not going to change anything, its just a pity that something as important (and really pretty mundane) becomes drama for many. Have a good… Read more »
A Scottish defence force would no doubt have personnel and equipment capable of assisting in a home based emergency, different if its fast jets, heavy lift helicopters, advanced maritime patrol.or even complex warship , I don’t think the budget will be available