Letters: Builder’s actions lame as warnings came flooding in

IN response to your article “We warned builder of risk days before Colonies flood” (News, July 16), many other local residents also expressed to Lagan, the contractor, their concerns prior to the flooding over the lack of adequate temporary flood defences put up by Lagan.

I too have expressed my doubts about the temporary defences to Lagan’s contractors on site last week prior to the flooding and I too got a casual, indifferent, condescending response.

However, I would like to draw your further attention to this issue as it must also concern and involve the council. As a retired engineer involved in the construction of infrastructure project and in flood prevention in places such as India and Indonesia, I do also strongly believe that the temporary measures were totally inadequate.

Also, given the amber warning, Lagan failed to provide or maintain adequate measures. Residents knew this was going to happen, so why did Lagan and the council fail to spot it or take heed of our concerns?

Michael Munro-Dunn, Kemp Place, Stockbridge Colonies, Edinburgh

Key job requires singular focus

with the massive increase in the use of the private sector in our NHS, Lothians and Fife being the latest areas to announce more private sector contracts, you would think the SNP Health Secretary would be focused on tackling this blatant breach of the party’s manifesto.

Instead, the Health Secretary has been appointed to run a committee looking at same-sex marriage and the committee on the referendum 
campaign.

I’m sorry but this goes to show a complete lack of understanding that stopping the privatisation of our health services should be the one and only focus of the Cabinet 
Secretary.

Dave Cochrane, Spottiswoode Street, Edinburgh

More care staff needed by NHS

THE NHS will care for everyone in the UK, whoever and wherever they are. It is our most valuable public service and must remain so.

We are told people are living longer and therefore the workload of the NHS will grow. It follows that there must be an increase in staff, fully trained in all aspects of care.

The existing staff who are already under great pressure to maintain the service would not be able to take on extra work and maintain the quality of both physical and mental care that is needed.

A Delahoy, Silverknowes Gardens, Edinburgh

Scots viewers left short-changed

JIm Sillars (News, July 18) may be joking when he suggests Rangers and Celtic could contest a Jubilee Cup to meet TV requirements, but there is a 
serious issue in respect of Scottish football TV rights.

By spending hundreds of millions on English League highlights and multi-millions on English lower league coverage, the BBC is short-
changing Scottish licence fee payers when it doesn’t bid for live Scottish league matches and allegedly pays Alan Hansen three times as much as it does for Scottish Premier League highlights.

Thus Sky can obtain the TV rights at below-market-value, £13 million a year, while the Norwegian League secured a £44m a year deal for a similar audience size and no global brands like Celtic and Rangers.

I am sure Jim Sillars can tell us why Norway is so much better and if Sky tries to reduce its meagre deal then it should be aware of the increased power of supporters who will be cancelling their subscriptions in protest.

Fraser Grant, Warrender Park, Edinburgh

Wind farms not pretty, but safe

DONALD Trump has to be congratulated for the millions spent on his new golf course which is great for Scotland. I can also understand his objection to the nearby wind farm.

But there is no way he will intimidate Alex Salmond nor should he. While wind farms are not easy on the eye, the residents of Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disaster areas would wish that was their only concern.

John Connor, David Henderson Court, Dunfermline, Fife