Sir, I could not believe my eyes when I read (March 24) that Councillor MacDiarmid believed that “most people” opposed the dualling of the busy killer road, the A92.
Does he not know that between Glenrothes and Kilmany there have been more than a dozen serious accidents and deaths during the past year?
Has he not heard that an application has been made for a new anaerobic plant near Freuchie that will require 11,000 heavy vehicles per annum to supply it with material via this appalling road?
I note that this councillor (and other senior Fife councillors) seem to believe that the current road system will be brought up to standard by building a sprinkling of roundabouts in the area.
No doubt the further building of the laybysproposed will sop up some of the “frustrated drivers”, for there is most definitely going to be a lot more of them once those 11,000lorries begin moving into the area.
For goodness sake, Fife Council, get this problem sorted out properly once and for all! We have great bridges north and south of our county and a partial dual carriageway system linking them. Stop playing around with this obvious missing link and make it safer for us all by dualling right across Fife.
Archibald A Lawrie. 5 Church Wynd, Kingskettle.
Is this the best they can do?
Sir, It is no wonder that the NHS 24 service is so derided if the service I received the other night is anything to go by.
My wife, who suffers from a serious auto-immune disease, took ill about 3.30am and when I found myself unable to cope, I telephoned the NHS 24 hour service.
I gave the operator all the details of my wife’s illness and she said that a doctor would call.
A few minutes later I received a telephone call from a man who introduced himself as the duty doctor.
He told me to contact my local surgery when it opened at 8am.
Silly me. When the operator said that the doctor would call I expected him to visit my wife at home and not to contact me by telephone.
When my local doctor called later that morning and I explained what hadhappened when I calledNHS 24, she merely shook her head and did not express any surprise.
If this is the best they can do, they should close theservice and revert to theprevious model whereby your family doctor provided a 24-hour service.
Allan Murray. 44 Napier Road, Glenrothes.
Flight security good practice
Sir, With regard to airline flight security, on many flights during the 1990swith the excellent carrier Ethiopian Airways, I remember being advised of, and seeing, a very capable looking security person/agent on every flight, be it international or domestic.
This person usually sat in a rear-seat from where passengers and cabin crew were unobtrusively observed throughout the flight.
Perhaps this practice should become mandatory on all major airlines, with security agents having access to the aircraft’s “office”.
Kenneth Miln. 22 Fothringham Drive, Monifieth.
Shocking scale of inequality
Sir, It is clearly disappointing to note the Scottish Government report which highlights the shocking scale of inequality in our nation, with the top 2% of households owning nearly one-fifth of all private wealth, while the least wealthy half of all households own just 9% (March 25).
Inequality is not just inherently wrong but has a negative impact on long-term economic growth and prosperity. The International Monetary Fund, for example, has found that lower income inequality correlates with faster and more durable growth.
However, as part of the UK, Scotland has been tied to an economic model that has exacerbated inequalities. Of the 34 OECD countries, the UK ranked 29th in terms of income inequality in other words, the sixth worst.
Inequality may also restrict government investment in the infrastructure, education and technology that is required by a modern economy.
Ensuring that the benefits of economic growth are shared more equally across society is just as important as boosting overall growth. It is, therefore, not only morally just, but also economic common sense to tackle inequality.
Dan Macdonald. Founder, N-56, 112 George Street, Edinburgh.
Slip-up by the “legal chief”?
Sir, It is unfortunate that Angus Council’s “legal chief” (as she is called in your news item, March 26) is apparently unfamiliar with Scottish legal terminology.
She is quoted as referring to “costs”which may be awarded against the unsuccessful party in a litigation. A Scottish court does not award costs, it awards expenses.
“Costs” is an English legal term and has no place in the Scottish legal system.
Alastair L Stewart. 86 Albany Road, Broughty Ferry, Dundee.