Letters: Nationalists’ vision for TV channels will be a turn-off

Ireland does not get the BBC, it buys some BBC programmes just like any other country in the world but it does not get the BBC.

People in Ireland pay roughly the same amount of licence fee for their broadcaster RTE and they also pay an additional £44 a year to access a limited amount of BBC programmes on the i-player.

Let’s get this straight, BBC licence fee payers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would not give a seperate Scotland free access to their paid-for BBC – it is called geo-blocking which would mean you wouldn’t get it on cable either unless we paid for it.

We would buy individual programmes but we would lose the four BBC television channels and the six BBC Radio stations. A licence fee collected from a country of five million would not get as many channels and programmes as a country of 60 million.

And as for the jobs argument, the BBC spends just as much in Scotland as it raises in Scotland so there would be no additional jobs – unless of course the licence fee was going to double in cost like it is in Norway and Denmark? There’s a statistic the nationalists never mention.

Dave Cochrane, Spottiswoode Street, Edinburgh

Give parents and pupils respect

The National Parent Forum of Scotland, of which I am the Edinburgh representative, has been campaigning across Scotland for parent/carer representation on education committees during 2011/12.

A number of local authorities now have either one or two parent representatives on their committees, sometimes in an advisory capacity and sometimes with voting rights. Two reps makes considerable sense for practical purposes. We welcome the proposal to include and involve parents in the Children and Families Committee.

At present, the only people not at the policy and strategy-making table in Edinburgh are parents and pupils.

It is important – whatever the challenges of the role – that parents and pupils are given due respect in this regard.

Partnership with parents is of course far, far more than this – but if our political leaders give out the clear message that parents (and ideally pupils) should be involved at this level, they will at least be leading by example.

This is a very important step in the right direction – much more requires to be done, but it is a start which we welcome.

Tina Woolnough, National Parent Forum of Scotland

The Union has let Scotland down

THE news that more and more people are relying on food handouts in the 21st century in Scotland is a disgrace.

If anything it highlights the failure of the Union and the shortcomings of Westminster policies.

While Labour are out campaigning with the Tories to keep this state of affairs, surely the solution for one of Europe’s largest exporters of oil is independence.

We see massive cuts coming in October in family tax credits, disability allowance cut and more coming our way.The Scottish Government’s budget was also cut by £300 million. Scotland will always be last if Westminster rules us.

If we have nothing to offer Westminster, why all the fuss to keep us in the Union? Could it be the millions of pounds in oil revenue going to Westminster?

J Hill, Stenhouse Avenue, Edinburgh

The first signs of madness on show

I HAVE just cycled along Princes Street. I counted 57 separate signs warning cyclists about the tram tracks! Who is responsible for this madness?

As tax payers, why are we paying for this blight on the quality of our public realm?

Eugene Mullan, Leith Walk, Edinburgh

Politicians live in a different world

WHEN the expenses scandal became public in 2009, promises were made by all politicians of all parties that the people of Britain would be given a new type of politics.

Now figures show that claims went up from £71 million for 2010 to £89m for 2011.

Quite clearly there is one world for our pot and kettle politicians and another world for the rest of us.

Alan Lough, Boroughdales, Dunbar