Sir, – Scottish education is regularly kicked around like a political football.
It is about time critics of the Scottish Government’s efforts took notice of the fact that Finland is the country credited as being top of the international attainment league.
This small, independent nation has no privately-run schools as the entire system is state run.
Finland can, of course, raise additional funds on the money markets to fund essential public services which Scotland, as overseen by Westminster, is forbidden to do.
The class-conscious people who control education in England fail to realise that intelligence is genetic and no amount of personal wealth can guarantee academic achievement.
For a nation to realise the full potential of all of its people it needs to fund all of its schools equally within a fair state- controlled system.
Scotland will never reach its full potential while it is shackled to Westminster and it is to be hoped that the non-unionist population will bear that in mind come the second referendum and not fall for unionist scaremongering or any more false promises of further powers which never materialise.
Allan A MacDougall.
37 Forth Park,
Bridge of Allan.
Give tax breaks for health care
Sir, – Martin Clunes has had cosmetic surgery which he believes is tax deductible due to his profession as an actor.
This may or may not be the case but the discussion could lead to a positive outcome.
The NHS is about to implode due to a lack of funding, overwork and a lack of doctors.
Why does Westminster and our Scottish Parliament not consider making all private medicine tax deductible?
This would take a huge load off the NHS and allow our well-heeled higher earners to have a say in how they spend some of their earnings instead of a chancellor or local government changing the rules to have the higher earner pay for more than he already does (like the new council tax banding rates).
The increase in private care would help our NHS hospitals, encourage private companies to expand and give our young consultants an opportunity to work in the UK instead of moving to Australia, Canada and other points west.
George Sangster.
Woodlands,
Logie,
Montrose.
Gambling in perspective
Sir, – Your political editor Kieran Andrews suggests in his column that betting shops in Scotland have benefited from a light touch approach on taxation and regulation.
This is simply not true. Betting shops are subject to stringent regulations and have been impacted by recent tax increases, including the hike in Machine Gaming Duty in 2015 which cost the industry an additional £89 million.
New restrictions on stakes over £50 have also hit the industry hard. As a result, more than 100 shops have closed in the past year and industry profits are at their lowest for more than a decade.
Moreover, a well-funded campaign by vested interest groups is calling for further regulation, including a £2 cap on gaming machine stakes which, if introduced, would see almost 500 shops close in Scotland and around 2,900 jobs lost.
Every business sector is entitled to defend its interests, especially one that makes such an important contribution to Scotland’s economy.
Indeed, given the challenges outlined above, the 5,000 people in Scotland whose livelihoods depend on betting shops would expect nothing less from us.
However, we do so in an open, constructive and transparent manner, meeting with politicians from all parties.
Such meetings also provide an opportunity to update them on our ongoing work to promote responsible gambling. Betting shops have made huge strides in this area in recent years and can rightly claim to be at the forefront of efforts to reduce problem gambling.
Around 650,000 customers visit our betting shops every year in Scotland. The vast majority gamble for fun. Warnings of a growing crisis in problem gambling are not borne out by reality.
Despite a plethora of new ways to gamble, much of it increasingly done online, problem gambling in the UK has remained stable over the past 15 years, at around or below 1%.
In Scotland, the number of problem gamblers in 2015 fell to 0.7%. By contrast, 26% of adults in Scotland drink hazardous levels of alcohol and 29% are obese.
Donald Morrison.
Association of British Bookmakers in Scotland,
56 Union Street,
Glasgow.
Lords have let down Britain
Sir, – I agree with the letters condemning the House of Lords who turned their backs on British citizens living abroad while wanting to protect foreigners staying in the UK.
Does it seem fair that a comparatively small UK, compared to European countries, should accommodate 3.5 million migrants yet there are only 900,000 Brits abroad spread over 27 European countries?
Mike Rogalski.
82 Feus Road,
Perth.
EU problem for separatists
Sir, – The comments by Jim Sillars (a Scottish nationalist) that he would not vote for independence if it meant being in the European Union, is a timely reminder to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that playing fast and loose with Brexit, is to play with fire.
We know that around 30% of SNP supporters voted for Brexit (even though the party is official pro EU) and Professor John Curtice tells us that perhaps 15 percentage points of the Yes independence vote has moved away from supporting Yes.
Ms Sturgeon should be careful here, although it has to be pointed out that some on the No side have switched sides as well.
The issue of the EU has bedevilled United Kingdom politics for decades; it seems to be having the same effect on Scottish politics.
William Ballantine.
7 The Quarryknowes,
Dean Road,
Bo’ness.
Policy kicked into long grass
Sir, – The second delay in the named person scheme is surely a reflection of the understandable concern about this ill thought through attempt at intervention in the lives of families.
It is not credible for Scottish Education Secretary John Swinney to blame re-drafting of the legislation.
That could have been done in just two months, rather than the two years that the introduction of the scheme will now have been delayed by.
Presumably this is more about pushing a difficult issue beyond the next round of elections and the expected SNP call for a referendum re-run.
Keith Howell.
White Moss,
West Linton.