Sir, – The SNP Government has ruled out a further delay for householders installing new fire safety equipment.
Housing Secretary Shona Robison stated that insurers are “not likely” to ask questions about specific standards and it’s “not likely” that policies would become invalidated for not complying with the new law.
I will “not likely” be willing to trust to luck, and find it astonishing that a “government” minister is being so flippant about a new law which could have desperate consequences for individuals and families.
But this is the SNP and we have had years of woeful mismanagement and poor decision-making, so expected. It doesn’t matter about important stuff like this because the drive for independence is more important.
Douglas Cowe. Alexander Avenue, Kingseat.
Political phone-in host should be better informed
Sir, – On Kaye Adams’ phone-in many of the callers were fed up with all of the preventative measures, and some callers were saying that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon should just remove almost all measures, and just keep masks in shops, etc.
Naked Scientist Dr Chris Smith was critical of the tsunami description describing the potential infection rates of the highly infectious Omicron variant.
The discussion surrounded the health service and its ability to cope with infection spikes, as every winter it is under pressure.
Dr Smith commented that it needs a major investment in the health service to manage
these types of infection diseases, by triaging incoming patients and testing for
transmissible viruses.
A caller, Carol, advised that the Scottish Health Service is doing things differently but is still controlled remotely based on the NHS funding in England and Wales. Kaye interrupted Carol, and announced that health was devolved to Holyrood.
Carol correctly advised that the Scottish Health Service is funded using the calculations within the Barnett Formula, which is based on how much funding is provided by HMRC to the NHS in England and Wales.
So the answer is simple. The Scottish Health Service is managed by Holyrood. It is funded by Scottish taxes which are returned to Holyrood at a rate determined by the Barnett formula.
Reducing funding in the NHS in England and Wales directly affects the money returned to Scotland It is disappointing that a leading chat show host – who regularly discusses politics on her radio programme – would not know these facts.
Alistair Ballantyne. Birkhill, Angus.
Cupar North development plan remains ‘sow’s ear’ despite mitigation
Sir, – Housing developments of the size of the Cupar North plan should not be permitted in a town the size of Cupar, with a population of around 9,000.
The proposed development would increase the population by more than 30% and
is not compatible with sustainability. The inevitable increase in traffic will produce noise, air pollution and cause gridlocks.
To get from A to B drivers can and will use shortcuts along previously quiet residential streets. Also, neighbouring hamlets and villages will experience increased traffic on already narrow, winding roads.
Infrastructure in Cupar is already fragile as the town has an aged sewerage system, schools and the local medical centre are filled to capacity, parklands and open amenity space within Cupar are reported to be below the Fife average (2011-16) and flooding is a real concern, with climate change likely to increase the flood risk.
Arable land will be sacrificed and precious biodiversity – including bats, buzzards, roe deer and other species of birds and mammals – will be displaced for the foreseeable future.
No amount of “mitigation”, which is planner and developer speak for “plaster on the sore”, will turn this sow’s ear of a development into a silk purse.
The developer (Persimmon) has been named and shamed on numerous occasions for shoddy building practices and was the subject of a BBC investigation in 2018 and a Channel Four Dispatches in 2019 which highlighted a history of bad management and poor standards.
In 2018, Persimmon had profits of more than £1 billion with much of that money derived from help to buy paid for by UK taxpayers. Residents of Cupar and surrounding area, please register your written concerns about this development by February 10 2022 with Fife Council planning service.
Moira Lindsay. Kirklands Park, Cupar.
Singing the praises of NHS professionals
Sir, – I would like to say a big thank you to the anaesthetists, theatre surgeon and nurses and receptionists who looked after me when I was in for surgery. True professionals every one.
God bless the NHS.
Alex McInnes. Elmwood Road, Dundee.
Separation or a step up for sectarianism?
Sir, – It seems there are plans to build a so-called multi-school Winchburgh campus in West Lothian. This will join two secondary schools, one denominational and one non-denominational, and a denominational primary.
It seems that despite plans to share a gym, the nondenominational school will be accessed from a new entrance at the west end of the site and the two denominational
schools from crossroads at the east end.
Is this a step in the right direction for sectarianism in the west of Scotland or the enshrining of separation under one roof?
Neil Barber. Edinburgh Secular Society, Saughtonhall Drive.
Cost of living could bring down Johnson
Sir, – I suspect that Peter Ovenstone is being far too generous in his belief of human nature. Most people did not go out to get the Covid vaccination
“because they understood that it was the responsible thing to do for wider society”.
They did so out of the belief that it would save themselves from the virus. Similarly, it will not be a garden party that will bring down Boris Johnson but the increased cost of living caused by his green agenda.
Whether politicians like it or not the electorate vote with their pockets.
Eric Gibbons. Coldingham Place, Dunfermline.
PM resignation calls play into SNP hands
Sir, – I am not a flag waver for Boris Johnson but can I suggest that Douglas Ross et
al keep quiet about asking the PM to resign because they are playing into the hands
of the SNP.
It may well be that Ross is a political lightweight, so it might be prudent for him to concentrate on the issues facing Scotland as opposed to worrying about what Boris is
up to.
Ronald James. Golf Place, Kirriemuir.
Life and death are matters of opinion
Sir, – Michael Veitch’s letter of January 18 is interesting in as much as he asserts that
matters of life and death are simply too important to be left to the realms of subjectivity, and that “God” has not left us in the dark about these things.
However, the concept of a “God” is in itself subjective – whatever is thought of as
“God” to one person, or to a number of people, is not so for others. It may even be that the ultimate power, or deity, is a combination of what some faiths call the “Devil” and “God”, both subjective concepts.
That is not to suggest that prayer is futile, not by any measure – but it should not be necessary to direct a prayer towards a “contrived” entity, or object, for the prayer to be effective.
Kenneth Miln. Union Street, Monifieth.
One man’s truth doesn’t make it so
Sir, – I thank Sam Graves for his pertinent questions raised in Thursday’s Courier. I am not a theologian but I have read the Holy Bible. Sadly, his first question is illogical since God is eternal. It is the kind of question that atheists would ask having a preconceived
agenda.
God is indeed all mighty and all loving but we live in a fallen world where sin has polluted mankind. No one is righteous. Fortunately, Jesus died for us and redeemed us from sin if we fully believe and truly repent.
Blaming Christians compared to humanists, secularists and the like for the world’s troubles is unjust. Just read the first half of The Courier each day and do a comparable count of the numbers. Don’t forget that the devil roams around looking for victims.
I am a scientist and believe in good science. Evolutionists are telling lies to prove that God does not exist. They use unknowns to prove unknowns. They fiddle the laws of
thermodynamics and change the age of the Earth every year by billions of years.
Their latest “theory” is that the big bang is untrue. We all know that and as Sam says, “we get nothing out of nothing.” All known fossils are found absolutely complete without any sign of transition between them. Many thanks to Sam for the comments.
Duncan Cromb. Hawthorn Road, Muir of Ord.
