Today’s letters to The Courier.
Sir, – The current SNP-run Dundee council cannot but help remind me of a young lady who has just received a new suite and now needs a new carpet, new curtains, or whatever the latest suitable matching accessory would be.
The V&A is the suite and a new station building the latest ‘whatever’.
All very nice, very nice indeed, but where is all this money coming from? As cutbacks wound deep into the heart of our community, is this the best way to spend what little there is?
Yet, upon reflection, it is not that little, is it?
Buildings falling with buildings rising is the dynamic, ever-changing landscape Dundee has presented for some decades, but now it has shifted up a gear, almost challenging the film Dark City in this regard.
Time-lapse photography with a decade beat from across the Tay would present a bewildering view of this dithering plan.
When the dust settles, if the plan holds, we will, at last, behold a river front of which we will be very proud.
Proud, that is, in the light of a shooting star that may chance upon a moonbeam, while we clutch the few pennies we may have left, if any.
And, this new station building is it not like something seen in Dubai?
Leslie Milligan.18b Myrtlehall Gardens,Dundee.
Must taxpayer pay for pension generosity?
Sir, – A study by Taxpayer Scotland has highlighted a £4 billion black hole in Scotland’s local authorities pension schemes.
The 32 councils have pension assets of £18 billion but liabilities of £22 billion.
It is not just the stock market but the gold-plated pensions lavished on public sector staff, and in particular the better paid, which has resulted in this mess.
Senior staff have been allowed to “retire” early with generous severance packages and many were then re-employed as consultants.
In the private sector final salary schemes are now rarer than hens’ teeth.
Already 20% of the money that the public pay in council tax goes to this pension fund. Do the councils expect the taxpayer to pick up more of the bill for their pension generosity?
Changes must be made and they could start with substantially increasing the pension contributions of those earning over £40,000.
After all, they receive huge pensions compared with those who undertake the demanding front-line services.
All new public sector employees should be given a less costly (to the taxpayer) pension scheme as is now the norm in the private sector.
Clark Cross.138 Springfield Road,Linlithgow.
No lack of laws, just police
Sir, – Most people, including police officers, can spot the difference between folk happily enjoying a pint in the sunshine and youngsters getting tanked up and causing mayhem. Do we really need contentious bylaws from our over-protective councillors to get rid of anti-social drinking?
If Councillor Peter Grant thinks a blanket alcohol ban (Courier, April 13) will make even a small dent in youth behaviour, cloud cuckoo land springs to mind.
There are, and have been for years, laws to combat this type of behaviour, breach of the peace, vandalism, malicious mischief to name but a few.
The big problem is that there isn’t anything like enough police officers in the area to enforce them, so we have to wonder who will police the bylaws brought in by our wise councillors.
John Strachan.23 Beechwood Avenue,Glenrothes.
“Great to see you back”
Sir, – On behalf of Angus and Perthshire Area of the Royal British Legion Scotland, may we express our pleasure and relief that The Black Watch, 3 SCOTS, have returned home to UK from Afghanistan safe and sound?
We’d also like to endorse Major Ronnie Proctor’s remarks in The Courier (April 10) that the battalion’s soldiers deserve our support but we in the Legion go further.
Major Proctor belongs to The Black Watch Association, and, entirely rightly, champions their own veterans and serving personnel; the Legion, however, offers help and support to servicemen and servicewomen of any cap badge and of all three services.
Our 16 branches in Angus and Perthshire all have welfare officers who are there to help the ex-service community, and if the Legion can’t, we’re almost sure to know someone who can so if you are ex-service and have a problem, bear us in mind.
But for the meantime, we are with Major Proctor, and say equally proudly to The Black Watch: “Welcome home: it’s great to see you back.”
Alasdair Maclean.Press Officer,Angus and Perthshire Area, Royal British LegionScotland.
A fine recruiting sergeant…
Sir, – I would like to thank the Economist magazine, which mocked-up a map of Scotland as “Skintland” on its front cover, as this has proven a magnificent recruiting sergeant for the independence campaign.
The cover also goes against the article itself, which admits that Scotland is not subsidised from Westminster and that the Scottish economy performs better than any other nation or region in the UK outside South-East England.
Thanks again.
Alex Orr.77 Leamington Terrace,Edinburgh.
Get involved: to have your say on these or any other topics, email your letter to letters@thecourier.co.uk or send to Letters Editor, The Courier, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL. Letters should be accompanied by an address and a daytime telephone number.