SNP ‘stockpiled bad news’ in referendum run up

The SNP Government have been accused of delaying controversial reports to spare them from embarrassment in the lead up to the referendum.

A raft of publications on heated subjects such as wind farms, illegal drugs, crime levels and cancer survival rates were all temporarily shelved before the historic poll.

Now, what’s been labelled a stockpile of “bad news” by opposition politicians, is set to be steadily released.

At least eight important Government publications have been postponed. Among them is a report into how Scottish house prices are affected by nearby wind farms.

It was commissioned after a study by the London School of Economics discovered they slashed property costs by 12% last year.

A team of researchers was due to report back to the Scottish Government last April but the report remains unpublished and sources say it’s months from completion.

Last night, wind farm protestors said another report looking at public opinion about wind farms has been hit by unexplained delays.

Linda Holt, of Scotland Against Spin, said: “The Scottish Government has commissioned a plethora of studies on their wind energy policy, all of which are seriously behind schedule.

“As the referendum approached, ministers became increasingly reluctant to talk publicly about wind policy, aware as they were of its growing unpopularity.”

Other reports delayed include the Scottish Drugs Misuse Database, which should have been published in January, crime stats for 2013/14 that should have been published in June and NHS complaint stats and cancer survival rates, due in August and this month respectively.

Scottish Lib Dem Business Manager Alison McInnes has slammed the postponements.

She said: “Whether the delay to these important reports is intentional or not, the SNP should treat Parliament with the respect it deserves. This means 100% transparency from a Government which seems to have been stockpiling bad news.”

Tory MSP Alex Johnstone added: “The SNP have been so fixated by their constitutional obsession they’ve deliberately parked significant reports, perhaps because they contain information that would prove detrimental to their arguments for separation.”

Last week it was revealed a US pharmaceutical company had been given a contract to handle Scottish patients’ GP records that is to be put on to a central database.

The controversial move was agreed in August but only came to light last Thursday.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The referendum has had no impact on the publication of any of these reports.

“All Official and National Statistics comply with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics which requires statistical reports to be published as soon as they are judged ready.”