Sir, – I read with interest the proposal by the Depute Provost and Angus councillor Colin Brown to charge teachers and other council staff to park at their place of work.
Perhaps he feels that because Ninewells Hospital charges staff to park, it is a sterling idea for Angus Council to do so too.
My wife is a nurse on shiftwork at Ninewells and pays £360 per annum for the privilege of parking there. Councillor Brown would like to remove a further £200 a year from my family’s pockets.
Hopefully he is aware that Angus struggles to recruit teachers in STEM subjects and that one of these subjects, engineering science, will soon be lost to the academy in his town due to a shortage of teachers in that discipline.
A young teacher entering the profession at the bottom of the pay scale might be tempted by a job offer at a Dundee school rather than an Angus one, given the financial penalty which Councillor Brown would like to impose on its employees.
He should also be aware that not all council employees earn anywhere near the pay of a teacher at the top of the pay scale.
Some work part-time hours on a “living wage”; would they be expected to pay the same parking charge?
Maybe Councillor Brown should think “outside the box” and encourage Angus Council to install electric vehicle charging points in its staff car parks, and offer its employees incentives to buy electric or hybrid cars through an employee lease hire scheme. The Scottish Government has ambitious climate change targets and Angus Council should be helping them achieve that.
As a footnote, I wonder what Councillor Brown’s next suggestion might be to raise revenue; perhaps installing ticketing machines at Park Grove Crematorium.
Gordon Dunn.
McGill Road,
Carnoustie.
Glossing over fracking facts
Sir, – It appears that the petro-chemical company INEOS’s legal challenge to the Scottish Government’s fracking ban may have been premature.
The company headed into court last week to be told by James Mure, QC for the Scottish Government, that the First Minister’s statements on an effective ban were merely a PR “gloss”.
This is some PR “gloss”, especially if you watch the First Minister’s speech in Holyrood last year when she adamantly stated “fracking is banned in Scotland, end of story and we should all be happy”.
How can present and future business people in the UK and abroad plan investments in Scotland when our government is driven by PR gloss and not by the kind of sensible and proper decision making that would allow our country’s economy to thrive and move forward?
This fracking ban is a classic example of the SNP trying to win “popular” votes and keep the Green party onside so they can push through any other ill thought out ideas and PR seeking opportunities that may sway people towards independence.
My message to the Scottish Government is, let’s have proper discussions and rational decision making on real business opportunities, that, if taken correctly, can be safely executed by Scottish, UK and international companies.
We do this every day in the North Sea, so why should fracking on land be different?
However having this discussion with the majority of the Scottish Government will be a challenge based on this summary by Tom Pickering of INEOS – “Sadly we seem to have reached the Alice in Wonderland situation where a business has to go to the Scottish courts to establish whether announcements in Holyrood can be taken at face value”.
John Godsman.
East Lodge,
Kirktown of Fetteresso.
Caring counts in a time of need
Sir, – Shortly before midday on May 4 I got on the number 22 bus to Craigowl. Nearing my stop I misjudged the distance of the hand rail and suffered a terrible fall.
The purpose of me contacting The Courier is to enthuse about how lucky we are in Dundee to have caring people to help in instances such as this.
Two passengers on the bus stayed back to help me and Mary, the driver of the bus, could not have been kinder.
The paramedics arrived shortly after they were contacted and they were absolutely brilliant.
I have the highest regard for everyone who helped me that day.
Norma Thom.
Pitlessie Gardens,
Dundee.
The Welsh have it worse
Sir, – It has been suggested that because the Welsh Assembly has capitulated, Holyrood should follow suit and allow Westminster to take back powers that belong here.
Note that it was the Westminster parties’ branch offices in Wales that surrendered, not the party that represents the people of Wales.
We are fortunate in Scotland to have a majority of seats in the Scottish Government held by parties that put the people of Scotland first, and not branch offices of Westminster parties that put London and the South East first.
For all our sakes the Scottish Government must continue to resist any attempt by Westminster to steal control of important issues such as fracking, the NHS, renewables, food standards, and so on.
Andrew Collins.
Skinners Steps,
Cupar.
Reduced to remote control
Sir, – We now know what the PM meant by “taking back control”, as she reveals that Scotland’s agriculture, fisheries etc will be taken back to Westminster.
Claims about Scotland as an equal partner in the UK, to be “consulted every step of the way” in the Brexit process, are exposed as meaningless.
While Cameron flattered to deceive, May no longer makes any attempt to conceal her total disregard for this part of her “precious union of equals”.
Scotland’s destiny? Remote control.
James Stevenson.
Drummond Avenue,
Auchterarder.
Spotlight must turn to obesity
Sir, – I watched two BBC programmes which discussed the NHS crisis.
The One Show took the easy route and blamed an ageing population and not enough money.
Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, host of Britain’s Fat Fight Fight, highlighted the fact that two-thirds of us are obese and the consequent Type2 diabetes epidemic is “the biggest health crisis we have in the country”.
Yet no politicians are talking about it.
The solution is regulation of food ingredients and marketing, public education and simple acts such as everyone being weighed when visiting a GP, who then gives advice on weight loss and exercise.
Most overweight people want to lose weight, but as long as governments do not admit to the problem and implement policies to support them, and peak time programmes blame funding and oldies the state of the nation’s health will get worse.
Nicola Sturgeon deserves praise for pushing through minimum alcohol pricing. I hope she turns her attention to measures to curb obesity. She could start by going on The One Show and telling it like it is.
Allan Sutherland.
1 Willow Row,
Stonehaven.
