The Courier’s week begins with discussion of the likelihood of a fuel duty regulator, the buoyancy of the construction industry, cyclists on pavements and piles of grit on street corners.
Swift action needed to reduce fuel prices Sir,-It was interesting that Lindsay Roy MP feels that introducing some form of fuel duty regulator ought not to be beyond the wit of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (January 20).
Many voters will not share his optimism.
This is the same government department that has failed to collect the right amount of tax from people over the last few years.
It has to accept part of the responsibility for the fiasco over the administration of the “tartan tax” last autumn.
It is the department that refused to co-operate with the Scottish Government over plans to implement a local income tax.
On these matters, the Glenrothes and Mid-Fife MP was silent. Fuel prices are now eating into the incomes of many of his constituents. It will need something quite radical to ease the pain over the coming months.
There is a strong case for handing a review of the matter of fuel prices to a special group outwith the tentacles of the Treasury.
The coalition government needs to try harder to get consent for its stringent spending cuts. It is not likely to do that until it ends the uncertainty over this key part of household expenditure.
A special project group needs to look at the overall effect on the economy as well as the impact on rural and island communities.
The group should not be constrained by Treasury thinking. It should be set up quickly, report quickly and have its findings implemented in the coming Budget. The country cannot risk a repeat of the lorry embargo that nearly brought us to a standstill just over 10 years ago.
Bob Taylor.24 Shiel Court,Glenrothes.
Bleak times for builders
Sir,-No-one should allow themselves to be misled by the latest GDP figures for Scotland into thinking that the construction industry is doing well.
Latest statistics show that the construction sector grew by 6.2% between July and September last year.
However, separate figures, also published last week, by the accountant in bankruptcy show corporate insolvencies up 24% in the third quarter of 2010 compared to the same quarter of the preceding year.
According to figures from the UK insolvency service, this trend includes a doubling in the number of construction firms forced into compulsory liquidation between July and September 2010, compared to the third quarter of 2009.
These figures tell a different story and illustrate the increasingly tough conditions being faced by many building firms.
Most construction firms I speak to are extremely anxious about the outlook for 2011.
In the absence of additional public investment to generate new work, this worrying trend in insolvencies looks set to continue and I fear that the growth in output from construction seen in the middle of last year will be a high-tide mark for the industry for some time to come.
Michael Levack.Chief Executive,Scottish Building Federation,4 Crichton’s CloseEdinburgh.
Religious intolerance
Sir,-A Christian woman in Pakistan is condemned to death under the blasphemy laws for defaming Muhammad.
Subsequently, Salman Taseer, governor of Punjab province campaigned for her to be pardoned and was assassinated on January 4.
The assassination led to a reported 50,000-strong demonstration in favour of the assassination.
The governor’s daughter has been warned by a leading politician not to defend her father’s sympathy for the Christian woman she should rather “remember what happened to her father.”
This is not a particularly uncommon situation in Pakistan. Christians are murdered on the basis of the slightest rumour of an offence against Muhammad or the Koran.
Centuries of similar treatment led to the crusades.
It also led to Islam becoming the most effective coloniser in history.
Andrew Lawson.9 MacLaren Gardens,Dundee.
Keep vehicles off pavements
Sir,-In reply to Clark Cross Cyclists should not ignore law I agree totally with what he said about cyclists parking on pavements.
What they should do is walk while pushing their bikes.
This give me a chance to mention how, when police used to come to Guildtown to monitor the speed of traffic going through the village, I pointed out to them that it would be more constructive to stop vehicles from parking half on pavements as it forces pedestrians such as mothers pushing prams, to use the road to get past.
Vehicles parked in that way also hindered my trying to get past when cycling while traffic behind me was in the process of trying to overtake me.
Neil. G. Sinclair.New Fleurs,St Martins,Balbeggie.
Post-storm clean-up needed
Sir,-Now that the snow has melted of its own accord and warmer days are with us, is not it time for Scottish councils to tidy up the mess left following their belated attempts to clear the streets?
While piles of grit on street corners in many areas may have been useful when there was snow, these are now cluttering up our pavements as well as providing a target for children to amuse themselves by spreading the stuff further and, in some cases, even throwing it at passing vehicles.
John Eoin Douglas.7 Spey Terrace,Edinburgh.
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