Sir, For 44 years I contributed to the UK exchequer by way of deductions from my earnings for health insurance and state pension provision.
I also paid income tax on my earnings and the income derived from my savings.
I realise that none of this money was set aside to build up a pension fund, it was used annually to meet the running costs of the country.
Therefore, there is obviously no money to transfer into a pension fund in an independent Scotland.
I assume that the on-going provision of pensions will have to be funded in Scotland as they currently are in the UK.
My concern is that in Scotland we will not have the preponderance of very high, or even high, income earners which exists south of the border.
I perceive there may be a major problem in dealing with a considerable imbalance in funding. Will this be resolved by reducing pensions or by increasing contributions from the Scottish workforce?
AA Bullions. Leven.
Loose chips danger on the roads
Sir, Last Saturday I cycled through Elie from Anstruther and took the Leven road. The road was a disgrace and a danger. It had been resurfaced but the amount of loose chips left behind can only be described as criminal and if any accidents took place because of these then those responsible for leaving the road like that should be taken to court.
The loose chips should have been swept up. I’m sure there are machines that can do that.
Surely some time over the past few days a council official or police car must have driven along that road and noticed the danger?
On Tuesday I cycled to Colinsburgh and took the Leven road, at the Elie junction I turned down towards Elie and to my shock the road had not been swept.
The first thing I met was a bus and I was showered with chips and dust.
A mile down the road there was a car on its side with a police vehicle in attendance. I can’t say for certain it was anything to do with the condition of the road.
We all have to adapt our driving to suit road conditions but in this case there was a danger which could have, and should have, been taken in hand and remedied.
Roy McIntosh. 9 Bankwell Road, Anstruther.
No confusion over the issues
Sir, In response to Brian Dempsey’s letter (Contentious street names, August 21), I would say that, rather than confusing two issues, I was actually making two points.
Firstly, that old streets should have their historical names left as they are, as the naming of new streets allows for current associations to be marked.
Secondly, that Dundee’s twinning with Nablus was controversial to say the least.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a complex issue which even the world’s top politicians and diplomats struggle to solve.
By twinning with Nablus, Dundee City Council appears to be acknowledging only one side of the argument and ignoring the plight of Israelis, some of whom suffer almost daily rocket attacks and the threat of suicide bombings by their Palestinian neighbours.
Angela Rennie. 88 Muirfield Crescent, Dundee.
Still no change at Keptie pond
Sir, Another three weeks or more has passed since the councillors visited Arbroath’s Keptie pond for their photo shoot. That is all that appears to have been achieved, because not one drop of water has entered the pond from the £45,000 bore hole this summer.
Have the councillors passed on their wishes to the council officers and executive to get something done?
Have the bore hole contractors been contacted yet?
Indeed, has anything at all been done to rectify this long-standing problem?
We are still waiting.
John Milne. Addison Place, Arbroath.
Make garden a wildlife haven
Sir, I thank the RSPB for their recent campaign to encourage people to make a haven for wildlife in their gardens.
For far too long we have been coerced into having boring, soulless manicured gardens which do nothing to attract birds, bees, butterflies and everything else we need to exist.
Amongst all our favourite plants, let us all leave a few clumps of nettles, weeds, etc and plant some wild flowers. Leave containers of water for the birds, especially in this hot weather.
Do people realise that most birds are weed seed eaters? Yet local councils use weed killer in bucket loads. Why?
Also, the weed killer probably kills many insects, which birds feed on.
Let us dispense with weed killers and insecticides. Individually we can all play a part in helping to preserve our birds, butterflies and animals.
Mrs J Forrest. 26 Pettycur Road, Kinghorn.