In an interview with the Radio Times, Rachel Clarke said: “If we want to do better next time – and there will be a next time – the first step is to be completely candid about what happened”.

Cue the Covid Inquiry. There are import questions to answer: what have we learned from the devastating events of the pandemic and how can we be better prepared for the next one? For myself, I’d like to know:

1. What our political leaders and policy makers are doing now in readiness for the “next time”.

Joanne Froggatt as Dr Abbey Henderson in Breathtaking

2. What lessons have we learnt from the last pandemic?

3. Have we restocked our supplies of PPE? And are the contracts sound?

4. What investment are we making in scientific research?

5. What measures are we taking to train, support and retain our most valuable asset – the NHS staff?

We got through the last pandemic due to the NHS working at beyond endurance levels (and what a toll that took on them); also thanks to the critical work done by our scientists in the search for an effective vaccine and to a compliant population who obeyed the rules. That may not be enough next time.

Fiona Garwood, Edinburgh

Falklands facts

Argentine leaders continuously parade a patriotic sham about the Falkland Islands. Copying Argentine language about returning the Falkland Islands or giving them back plainly echoes a lie on behalf of liars.

The Falklands have never at any time in history been Argentine. They were uninhabited when British farmers settled in the 17th century. No place called Argentina existed.

The Argentine lie is mendacious patriotic talk to cover the failures of Argentine administration in Argentina. Their problems don’t need spreading to more places.

It’s not as fashionable as it was for British voices to claim foreign dictators are always right and Britain always wrong. But that style of sentiment still gets uttered at the expense of freedom in distant lands.

Tim Cox, Bern, Switzerland

War footing

The world is now at its most dangerous with the Russia/Ukraine war entering its third year and the Hamas/Israel war showing no sign of a solution. China has its eye on Taiwan. North Korea is testing its missiles.

It was said by the Roman Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus “Let him who desires peace prepare for war”. The UK now has only 142,560 in the armed forces and they are ill-equipped.

Preparing to prevent war will cost trillions of pounds so we should stop squandering our taxes on a changing climate in the distant future while the threat of World War III is now.

Think of the cost of all those people on the climate gravy train. They should be sacked. Foreign aid should be stopped. Housing those entering the UK illegally is costing £3 billion a year so deport them. The trillions saved would pay for tanks, rockets and aircraft and enable us, from a position of strength, to deter any would-be aggressors.

Clark Cross, Linlithgow, West Lothian

Road sage

Everything in Tom Wood’s excellent article on pollution and potholes (Scotsman, 20 February) is spot on, and represents a welcome breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnant and toxic debate about the future of Scotland's roads.

It is clear that the case for sorting out the terrible pothole problem is a pressing one, far more immediate and dangerous than plans for creating yet more restrictions on car use. Cars are here to stay, hopefully more and more environmentally friendly, and so we should be making the roads we have safer.

It’s bad enough having to avoid huge holes in our cities but now we are finding great problems on our major rural thoroughfares. Hitting a big pothole at 60 miles an hour is potentially fatal and, travelling around East Lothian recently, we have hit several really dangerous holes. I hope our politicians can take a lead in this, rather than spouting meaningless waffle about car-free city centres.

Brian Bannatyne-Scott, Edinburgh

Wrong note

The proposals for a new concert arena in the Edinburgh Park area (Scotsman, 21 February) might well be exciting but surely, given the hard line stance of Edinburgh City council, this will be "environmentally unfriendly”?

A capacity of 8,500 seats, with an estimfated 700,000 visitors per year. The carbon footprint will extend well outside Edinburgh. Given the attack on motorists being pursued with vigour, this is hypocrisy. Is everyone meant to cycle to the venue or walk? Even public transport is not pollution-free.

This is precisely what is wrong with Scotland today. No politician can make up their mind so the resultant hotch-potch of ideas just leads to confusion. Who is actually going to invest in an expensive scheme that relies upon SNP/Green whims?

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

Windfall tax

The SNP can rightly be accused of rank hypocrisy in criticising Labour’s proposed windfall tax (Scotsman, 20 February). Not long ago Nicola Sturgeon and now Humza Yousaf and Stephen Flynn were demonising North Sea oil and gas with a no to Rosebank – the oil and gas industry which was to bankroll their independence dream. They cared nothing for the futures of tens of thousands of jobs, local businesses and families, pandering to their Green masters.

In August 2022, Nicola Surgeon called for a windfall tax and an end to new exploration. Now, to score political points, Yousaf and Flynn are criticising Labour’s proposal in a disgraceful, embarrassing about-turn. Who in Scotland can believe a word they say?

Douglas Crowe, Newmachar, Aberdeenshire

Lost generation

As a coalition of organisations that support vulnerable children and young people, we have for a number of years shared the concerns of Scotland’s councils over a lack of resourcing to support an escalating number of pupils with additional support needs (ASN) (Scotsman, 21 February).

The number of those with ASN, such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems, now amounts to more than a third of pupils, a doubling in numbers over the past decade. This has increased due to greater identification, as well as rising levels of poverty and mental health problems, exacerbated by the damaging ongoing impacts of Covid-19 lockdowns and the cost-of-living crisis.

However, this scenario is set against the increasingly challenging backdrop of a lack of specialist teachers, support staff and the resources needed to support them. The number of specialist ASN teachers, for example, has declined by over 540 from 2012, with a slashing in spending of £1,870 per pupil from 2012/13 for those identified with ASN.

This is putting an incredible level of pressure on teachers and other staff, with an impact also in terms of surging levels of school violence and poor behaviour we are witnessing.

While we as a coalition support the principle of mainstreaming, that all children and young are taught in mainstream classes unless exceptional circumstances apply, it is difficult to see how this can work effectively when those with ASN are in many cases not receiving the necessary care and support. This negatively impacts not only them, but also their peers and staff.

Without our councils receiving adequate financial support, we are facing a lost generation of vulnerable children and young people and would urge the Scottish Government and councils to work together to address this.

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition: Kenny Graham, Lynn Bell, Stephen McGhee & Niall Kelly, Edinburgh

Tax failure

A key pledge of the SNP Government when it came to power was a root and branch reform of the domestic tax system. Sixteen years on we are seeing the failure to implement this change unravelling, with the Government in dispute with Cosla. It’s not really a council tax freeze, of course, with Humza Yousaf confirming that cash-strapped councils will get an increase of 5 per cent. It’s another SNP creative accounting exercise as this extra £144 million is prioritised from other taxation.

In late 2007 the SNP proposed to replace the tax with a fairer local income tax. Instead last year we saw a failed attempt to create a two-tier council tax system whereby band E payers would pay 50 per cent more than band D. This would have hurt, for example, those in two-bedroom flats in Edinburgh on band E and favour those in a four-bedroom detached house with a conservatory in East Calder on band B. This ludicrous position is compounded by a failure to revalue bands created in 1991. Since then many larger properties have been extended and are worth relatively more.

Council tax for many is their biggest regular outgoing but what they pay is a postcode lottery rather than based on ability to pay and services received. Replacement is long overdue.

Neil Anderson, Edinburgh

Labour and Gaza

The Labour Party has lost its soul, if it ever had one. Calling for a ceasefire now after all the carnage is akin to watching someone beat their partner near to death without lifting a finger and then ageeeing they could be put on life support.

Marjorie Ellis Thompson, Edinburgh

Write to The Scotsman

We welcome your thoughts – NO letters submitted elsewhere, please. Write to [email protected] including name, address and phone number – we won't print full details. Keep letters under 300 words, with no attachments, and avoid 'Letters to the Editor/Readers’ Letters' or similar in your subject line – be specific. If referring to an article, include date, page number and heading.

Readers' letters: Are we learing the right lessons from the Covid pandemic?

Comments