Sir, I refer to your correspondent John Johnston’s letter of June 26 in which he rebuts the faintly ridiculous assertions by Andrew Dundas that subsidies paid to Scottish farming are disadvantaging the poor and needy.
May I extend Mr Johnston’s points as follows:
The Scottish farming industry is subsidised through the EU budget in the same manner as all other EU countries. It reflects the importance placed by the EU on national food production capacity and, of course, there is the addedelement of contribution to national balance of payments, since food not produced locally would have to be imported.
There is also the issue of the value obtained from Scottish food products and live-animal exports.
The subsidy, represented by the “Single Farm Payment” is of particular relevance to crofters and hill farmers where the nature of the land being farmed places restrictions on production choices.
Such small family farms would have a tenuous future if simply left to the rapacious practices of the food-processing and food retailing industry, which source products at the cheapest price possible to gain profit-margin advantage over competitors, and to supply food to consumers at artificially low prices.
Quite apart from farming production there is also the important element, as mentioned by Mr Johnston, of landscape management.
The countryside, although often claimed to be “natural” by the uninformed, is nothing of the sort. The UK landscape is a result of careful management practice over hundreds of years.
If small family farms are forced out of business by being unprotected against multinational business practice, then who is going to manage the land?
Derek Farmer Knightsward Farm Anstruther
No way Greece will mend ways
Sir, Since it gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire two centuries ago Greece has always lived beyond its means and has been a persistent defaulter on its debts.
It was therefore nosurprise to any economist when the European Union refused point blank to allow the country to join the euro when the new currency started in 1999.
But Helmut Kohl, to demonstrate thatpost-unificationGermany remained European, hadengineered the entry of Italy to the eurozone so the floodgates were in fact wide open.
Greek debts were known to be astronomic and its inflation out of control but it was waved in and immediately went on a mind-boggling spending spree, which included the Olympics Games.
Though it had Europe’s fastest ageing population it allowed public sector wages to double and funded an insane pension system equating to 90% ofper-retirementsalary.
With endemic taxevasion there is no chance this Club Med banana republic will mend its ways, so Europe has the problem families face when a child becomes a drugaddict.
Dr John Cameron, 10 Howard Place, St Andrews KY16 9HL
Our own Greek tragedy avoided
Sir, I have been following the financial problems of Greece with interest. Today their banks closed until further notice and their banking machines will now only pay out £40 a day and that is providing that you can find one that has any money in it.
I cannot help thinking that if Scotland had voted for independence last September we would, in a few years’ time, have been in the same position as Greece is today with the Bank of England, a foreign bank, controlling our money supply, a collapse in tax take due to the plummeting price of oil and of course spending money we don’t have to try to reverse austerity.
Councillor Mac Roberts Ward 1 Carse of Gowrie
Towns heading for ruin
Sir, In today’s Courier Councillor Bryan Poole welcomes the decision by Fife Council’s executive committee to change the conditions applying to Cupar North (1,400 houses etc) in the FifePlan local development plan, to ensure that a relief road will be completed within five years of the first house being built.
Will residents be asked for their views?
Already houses in the area of this relief road are suffering from planning blight.
In a Courier article on April 24 2015 Mr Poole said that ‘Cupar North is generally a development with little support in Cupar, although it is supported by landowners, developers and consultants’.
He raised three concerns, including whether NHS Fife could cope with the proposed expansion of the town by 30%.
In theory, councillors are elected and paid to represent the views of residents, not developers and consultants. There were thousands of objections to the Structure Plan (2009) and the Local Plan (2012).
Virtually all were ignored. Proposals by officials for Cupar North and St Andrews West (which would increase St Andrews by about 25%) were voted through.
The proposal by the Cupar Consortium (Persimmon Homes, VICO Properties and Headon Developments) was supported by council official Mr Birrell, who said ‘it aimed to promote economic growth in Cupar… St Andrews West was proposed by the University of St Andrews,
Headon Developments and Montgomery Forgan, and was also approved.
The disastrous views of officials of Fife Council and the Scottish Government, supported by councillors, that small attractive money-spinning towns in North East Fife can be increased by these amounts and still continue to be attractive and money-spinning, will sadly only be realised too late after officials and objectors are long gone.
Meanwhile St Andrews and Cupar will have been ruined.
P. M. Uprichard, Littleridge, Hepburn Gardens, St. Andrews
Translation costs wrong
Sir, I was shocked to read the article in Friday’s Courier concerning the huge cost the NHS pays out in translation costs. I find it hard to believe that somebody has put through legislation which requires the NHS to supply these services.
I lived in Spain for eight years and there like all other European countries there are notices in all doctors surgeries and in hospitals: ‘If you do not speak the language please come with an interpreter otherwise you will not be seen’.
The legislation to supply interpreters is not an mandatory within the EU so why oh why is the UK so soft that we have to put up with paying for foreign language interpreters.
I can understand the need of English sign language interpreters but not for a foreign language.
The cost of putting a notice in every surgery and hospital will be far less the thousands spent on translators.
If foreigners want to live here they should learn the language or pay the cost of using a translator.
Mike Higgins 27 Deanbank Street Dundee
Home comforts from posting
Sir, At the recent passing-out parade at the Scottish Police College, publicity was given to a 48 year-old grandmother who had successfully passed the entrance examinations and was being posted to her home town.
This is a brilliant gender-focused display and certainly keeps the Scottish Government’s pledge to retain the police numbers, but I assume that the officer will not be required to complete the normal 30 years’ service nor will she be transferred to a station in the Outer Hebrides!
Certainly a fantastic achievement.
John McDonald, 14, Rosebery Court, Kirkcaldy
All words on wind power
Sir, Scotland could become the global leader in the emerging floating wind industry according to a new report for the Scottish Government.
These boasts are getting to be monotonous as well as never happening. Scotland was going to lead the world on carbon capture and storage but despite millions spent Canada beat them to it.
Scotland was going to lead the world on CO2 reduction targets but failed for four consecutive years. Scotland’s jobless soared by 9,000 to 167,000.
Longannet, which provides a quarter of Scotland’s electricity output, is due to close and no plans were made to replace it with a new gas powered plant.
A budget loss for Scotland police because the Scottish Government ignored Westminster’s warnings on VAT.
Promises, promises but no results.
Dan Arnott 1 St Brycedale Court Kirkcaldy
Minister should take note
Sir, I want to thank Logan Carrie’s family for securing a commitment from the government minister to visit the stretch of the A92 and consider the issues raised by the family and other groups actively campaigning for improvements.
Despite their personal tragedy the family continue to campaign for improvements and I fully support them in this and applaud their courage.
During his visit I hope that Derek Mackay will have an opportunity to walk from the Tullis Russell roundabout towards the Balfarg junction using the pavement.
He will notice on his journey that there is an old entrance to the estate, now blocked off, but the pavement has never been reinstated.
Vehicles sometimes use this as a temporary layby and pedestrians have to step out on to the road and face oncoming vehicles travelling a speeds up to 50mph.
Further on, the pavement comes to an abrupt end at the start of the dual carriageway section right at the no entry sign and following the recent installation of the central barriers it is not possible to cross the road at the end of the pavement.
Once again pedestrians, some who may be pushing a child in a buggy, have to step on to the road, again face oncoming vehicles and walk the distance to the recently constructed pedestrian crossing.
I am sure that once he has experienced this journey ‘first hand’, as well as recognising the need to improve the Cadham and Balfarg junctions, he will also recognise the urgent need to make improvements for pedestrians between the junctions, including the long-awaited pedestrian bridge.
John Hopkins 9 Fleming Place Glenrothes