Letter: Help Holyrood

You give at least two good reasons for expanding the powers of the Scottish Parliament (your report, 23 March). Your editorial suggests a rise in alcohol duty. The UK parliament could do that but at present the Scottish one cannot; unionist parties have blocked what it could do, a rise in minimum prices of alcoholic drinks. Power over changing the rate of duty would remove the need to seek an alternative means of raising price.

The UK Home Secretary talks of slashing the numbers of foreign students allowed into the UK. Scotland benefits from foreign students. Our universities are partly maintained by fees from them.

Pre-university and college, Edinburgh has a significant industry in the language schools to which young people come both from within and from outwith the EU. It would be shortsighted to turn away young Chinese language learners just to earn political kudos from xenophobic voters.

David Stevenson

Blacket Place

Edinburgh