Readers' Letters: Examples of Scottish Government's numerous failures on display

What an edition the 6 January Scotsman was! On page 1 we are informed by no less than Humza Yousaf that “we do have a very controlled and quite tight regime when it comes to the management of animals, control of dogs”. So tight that XL Bully dogs are being brought to Scotland by the hundred, and how dare they “exploit any loopholes” in so doing.

A single issue of The Scotsman provided multiple examples of the Humza Yousaf-led SNP government's failures, says reader (Picture: Peter Summers/Getty Images)

Then on page 5 we have the answer to all the SNP financial worries staring us in the face – the Bank of Murrell.

Moving on to page 13 we find that the SNP/Green government reneged on spending the promised £10 million to help with Ukrainian refugees – so much for being “super sponsors”!

On to page 18, where we are informed a quarter of mental health roles are either vacant or filled by locums – another betrayal of the Scottish NHS with regard to lack of funding in specific areas of need.

Page 19 highlights another FM dereliction of duty, or to put it another way, another cancelling of a policy spouted by Yousaf last year on the support for rural housing, which is facing “shocking neglect”.

And finally, on page 24, Susan Dalgety highlights one of former FM Sturgeon’s vacuous commitments to children in care when she admitted on Radio 4 she had broken her promise.

If this one edition does not typify the scant regard for truth, commitment to the people of Scotland and honesty shown by the Holyrood governing cabal, nothing ever will.

I would ask separatist correspondents to focus on the above and explain these examples away, rather than spouting forth on magic money tree financial solutions or trying to tell us that the Emerald Isle is what we should aspire to be.

Let this year be the one where we banish the self-serving SNP/Greens to the political wilderness for good, even though they will still be taking exorbitant pensions with them for the rest of their lives – a small price to pay for the good and sanity of our nation.

David Millar, Lauder, Scottish Borders

Sheppard’s watch

With the prospect of a UK general election later this year, SNP MP Tommy Sheppard tries to encourage Scottish voters to keep their focus on the cause of independence, saying that the independence debate “stops” if the SNP loses the next election.

Presumably the last thing he would want anyone to think about is the SNP’s track record over the course of the last 16 years in which they have been in power. Whether it is overcoming the attainment gap in education, reducing hospital waiting list, delivering on promises on everything from dualling the A9 to reducing class sizes, achieving environmental objectives, or pretty much any critical area of delivery, the SNP prefer we forget about what they have not achieved. Instead we are to imagine how wonderful things could be if we let them get what they want.

We must hope the people of Scotland have more sense.

Keith Howell, West Linton, Scottish Borders

Lost Horizon

Regarding the Horizon computer system and the Post Office, was the PO the only user of Horizon; if not, did others have similar problems? Has Fujitsu refunded in full the revenues paid by its client(s) for its flawed system?

Did all its faults involve apparent deficits or did some users' systems show apparent surpluses; if so, what did the PO do with them – and with the penalties falsely demanded from the sub-postmasters?

Did Paula Vennells and her predecessor as CEO, Adam Crozier (both of whom progressed to similar high-level well-paid jobs) never query whether around 1,000 trusted sub-postmasters would become criminals overnight immediately after the new IT system was implemented?

Did Vennells as (incredibly) a part-time Anglican priest never ask herself, or her subordinates or Fujitsu, “I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible that you may be mistaken”?

As Horizon's faults first came to light about 20 years ago, and as even the PO apologised more than three years ago for its “historic failings”, surely our justice system could by now have reversed all the convictions as unsafe, if we are innocent until “proved guilty”?

While this affair is particularly disgraceful, we have also had thalidomide, contaminated blood, Grenfell Tower and now Covid, with their public inquiries taking far too long to report and attribute blame, in both the public and private sectors.

John Birkett, St Andrews, Fife

Post no-haste

It's a great pity it has taken the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office to bring the enormity of the miscarriages of justice against the sub-postmasters in the UK to the public’s attention. The trauma these people must have suffered is unimaginable and it's right that the Prime Minister and UK Justice Secretary should belatedly try to expedite a quick resolution to the injustices which have caused so much public outrage and hold those responsible for ignoring the Horizon problems to account.

One would have expected similar assurances from Humza Yousaf, the Lord Advocate and Crown Office, to raise the hopes of those sub-postmasters who have been wrongly prosecuted in Scotland, but it would seem that the Scottish Government is not treating the matter with the same urgency as the authorities south of the Border.

Bob MacDougall, Kippen, Stirlingshire

Sea here

Peter Hopkins (Letters, 6 December) is correct. Average sea level has been rising since 1910 at a steady rate of about 2cm every ten years. So it looks as if it's not rising now any more than it was a century ago (this is not due to ice-melt: post-glacial sea level rise ceased about 8,000 years ago).

Nevertheless, the rise has recently been accelerated by increased melting in Greenland and Antarctica. This has the potential to double the total sea level rise projected by 2100 when compared to projections that assume a constant rate of sea level rise. This conclusion is not based on any computer modelling, but on real data.

It is true that sea levels are not consistent worldwide. For example, in many locations along the US coastline the rate of local sea level rise is greater than the global average due to to land processes like erosion, oil and groundwater pumping and subsidence.

Steuart Campbell, Edinburgh

Human book

I empathise with Neil White (Letters, 8 January) over the sad collapse of my former employer, the Church of Scotland, but I agree with little else that he writes.

Talk of a “return” to Biblical Christianity makes me uneasy, as I consider that such is precisely what, historically, the Reformed Church is all about. If Mr White means a return to believing that the Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God, I suggest that that does not bear scrutiny. A lot of bad things happen in the Bible. I believe that, far from imprinting the Bible with the stamp of inerrancy or infallibility, we should read it like any other book and let it speak for itself, warts and all. Then we will find a very human book, featuring an extensive cast of errant and fallible human beings, reflecting a fully human as well as divine saviour.

Ian Petrie, Edinburgh

Step back?

Whatever your position on Scottish independence, the Nicola Sturgeon-led SNP seemed at least reassuringly liberal and progressive. In recent years, however, we have seen Kate Forbes, a leadership candidate, proclaim her opposition to marriage equality and now First Minister Humza Yousaf is attempting to regain the support of Christian fundamentalist and anti-gay campaigner Brian Souter.

We were prepared to excuse Yousaf when, a few years ago, he claimed to have missed the vote on marriage equality because he was too busy but any new accommodation for money would be sad.

Neil Barber, Edinburgh

Pipe dream

I do not know if Scotland will ever break with the Union, but what I do know, after living in Spain for 20 years and experiencing first-hand the conflict between ETA , the Basque separatists and the government, as well as the Catalonian Independence fiasco, is that no Spanish Prime Minister is ever going to allow an Independent Scotland to join the EU, regardless of any polite “Why not?” they may utter when the point is moot.

Philip Millward, Sutton-on-Sea, Lincolnshire

Path to safety

I am very much pro cycling. Still, I wish Edinburgh Council would ban it on the Union Canal towpath. A 6ft wide path which is busy with walkers, joggers, mums and toddlers etc is no place for cyclists; particularly when many go at full pelt. Many people must be put off enjoying a picturesque stroll by the thought of cyclists whizzing past within a few inches.

My previous councillor told me “education is the only answer”. He even produced a booklet on canal etiquette which addressed the subject. Of course, it made no difference. As with speeding in cars, education is only a part of the solution. My present councillor has suggested increased signage along the canal. Alas, this has never worked either.

It might be through fear of the cycling lobby, but the authorities show great reluctance to act. To me, the solution is quite simple. Recently, I visited Hampstead Health and Bristol Downs, both of which are criss-crossed with narrow Tarmac paths. Cycling on them is forbidden. Evidently, the view is that pedestrians of various kinds come first.

Alastair McLeish, Edinburgh

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