Must Scotland rethink free care for the elderly given the spiralling cost?

The country is bankrupt and everyone will have to tighten their belts. Sadly free care for the elderly has become a luxury we cannot afford.

Of course, if we axed some of the myriad tiers of bureaucracy in local and central government and dragged a few politicians' snouts out of the trough, then it might be a different story altogether.

Mark Mackenzie, London

The rising costs of this care policy is something Scotland cannot avoid, and this is inevitably going to mean more taxes and cuts elsewhere (including NHS services probably) to pay for it. But rather than continually penalising taxpayers, why not focus the necessary cuts on overpaid government pen-pushers and benefit cheats to make a lifetime of "playing the system" and/or tax avoidance less appealing?

Marly, Perth, Glenfarg