Letters: Final ingredients needed in recipe for healthy meals

Hopefully, with continuing support and innovation from Edinburgh City Council, schools in Edinburgh can match the success seen in North Ayrshire where more than 80 per cent of dishes are freshly prepared.

Hungry for Success – the Scottish Government’s healthy eating policy for schools – has done much to improve the nutritional standards of school lunches.

However, the problem facing many schools, particularly secondary schools, is pupils’ low uptake of school meals – even amongst those eligible for free school meals.

It seems that while there are many positive steps towards providing healthy, fresh and nutritious food for children and young people in schools there are still challenges to overcome.

These require continued partnership working between health professionals, public services, schools and the voluntary sector to allow us all to improve the diets of children and young people in Scotland.

Amy Hickman, development worker, Edinburgh Community Food

Why not play fair with all wages?

Councillor Cameron Rose does his bit in trying to portray the Con-Dem government’s welfare reforms as fairness (Letters, April 9).

It may have escaped his and many others’ notice that a huge chunk of the welfare bill is used to subsidise the earnings of workers, the shareholder dividends and obscene bonuses of executives in big business that refuse to pay their employees a living wage. Can I suggest that in the interest of fairness this government address this, reduce the welfare bill and introduce legislation requiring all businesses employing more than 100 staff (including part-time staff) to pay all staff a living wage?

At the same time it could also consider restricting benefits packages for executives to no more than nine times that of their lowest-paid employee.

Now wouldn’t that be fair?

James McNeill, Gilmerton Dykes Crescent, Edinburgh

Scot-free region has an upside

I AM sure we are all much enlightened by Martin Hannan’s article setting out the dire consequences of a “no” vote (April 9), except I don’t think he has spelt out half the awful future facing us when Scotland is subjugated into Greater  England.

The very name of our country will be lost and with it everything we call Scottish or Scots. No longer will I be able to take my Scottie for a walk to lift his leg on a Scots Pine.

My dog will become a mongrel and all those trees will be chopped down.

When we lose the use of the terms “Scotch”, “Scottish” and “Scots”, Northern England (us) will be flooded with fake whisky made in Marlborough or Manila.

I won’t be able to buy Scotch eggs. I won’t be able to flee south on the Flying Scotsman and your esteemed sister paper will be shut down. The Scotsman? No way.

Worst of all will be the personal consequences. Martin Hannan as a self-declared SNP member will be one of the first sent to the salt mines of Cheshire, and one hates to think what will happen to our revered Alex Salmond, as the Scottish National Party will be dissolved.

Come to think of it, that would be a good idea. I could live with that.

Neil Mackenzie, Grange Loan, Edinburgh

Demolish blot on city’s landscape

The Cockburn Association’s Euan Leitch, in his article ‘Pulling down monstrous block might be too brutal’ (News, April 8) dances round the future of the “brutalist” Argyle House.

Recognising it is little loved, he tentatively poses supportive questions and paints some context inferring that it may not have been the worst contribution to Edinburgh’s architecture. He even manages to find a modestly complimentary quote. Well done with that.

Argyle House is ugly and a blot on the Edinburgh landscape. Perhaps it was once or could again be functionally useful. But it is not worthy of special efforts to preserve it.

Cllr Cameron Rose, City Chambers, Edinburgh