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The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
We must address the problem of over-management if we are to succeed
The same applies to nurses and teachers. We have improved the ability to diagnose illnesses and also the difficulties our children face with ADHD and the like. Whilst this is great news we haven't adapted to handling these new workloads and our nurses, police and teachers are struggling to cope. We are under-resourced at basic level whilst being way over-managed. We have also removed the power of people to make decisions without a fear of being sued, sacked or accused of some 'ism' or other. Private industry has similar challenges but is much more efficient and makes quicker decisions, especially as they are usually accountable to shareholders. The recent fiasco at Dundee University is a good example of something that would be very unlikely to happen in a PLC. All politicians need to address this massive problem of over-management if we are to retain our best workers and get the most for our cash. John Gilligan, Ayr. Read more letters Tree planting fall is shameful Picking up on the news the other day that tree planting in Scotland had predictably fallen away after funding was cut, it is useful to put another year of failure in context. I first became aware of tree planting targets in Scotland in 2006, with an ambition to plant 15,000 hectares of trees a year until 2040, which would have given us 25 per cent woodland cover. The objectives then were to increase our timber supplies, create more woodland habitat, and get people out and about walking in woodland to help the NHS by getting them fitter. The following year, after the film, An Inconvenient Truth, we started hearing about carbon and climate change mitigation as well. Since then, the target has only been achieved in one year, and the accumulated deficit (I know, I keep a spreadsheet of it) is now 152,000 hectares, or 305 million trees if planted at an average of 2,000 per hectare. The accumulated failure is colossal. That is, trees that agreed policy suggested that we should plant, but we did not. The responsibility for this rests completely with the Scottish Government for (1) not making sufficient funding available, and (2) not having processes and mechanisms in place which would allow us to efficiently license this additional woodland area. What this tells us is that the environment in Scotland is not important to our politicians, regardless of what they say about it. I hope people remember that next time we are subjected to their virtue signalling on climate change mitigation. They are not even starting to get the basics right. Victor Clements, Aberfeldy. We need Scottish National Degrees Now that the new Education (Scotland) Bill has passed the final stage of debate, anyone reading it will wonder why they bothered since it seems a charter for maintaining stasis. The new agency, Qualifications Scotland, will doubtless have the sins of the father handed down to it. Strictly speaking, I take the view that the actual delivery of qualifications is provided by schools and colleges with only the accreditation for their courses being conferred by this new body and this should have been embedded in the new title. In this respect I suggest the new agency should in law have taken steps to address the disparity in values we are stuck with due to a series of historical accidents which split courses which are characterised as purely academic from those with the practical application of knowledge and understanding. As we have seen in many other organisations, the claim of ownership can be a toxic demarcation. In order to attempt to address this issue I feel the new agency should design and offer Scottish National Degrees at a national standard both at general and subject level for delivery within all colleges. For too long we have accepted independence within the university system and an assumed supremacy in educational standards. I fear however that in forming this new Qualifications Scotland body we have missed a golden opportunity to press for one game and one set of rules on the educational playing field. Bill Brown, Milngavie. Lecturer posts should be reduced Several universities in Scotland are in a severe financial position and having to consider redundancies. Part of this is due to a reduction in foreign students paying large fees which in the past allowed high salaries to be paid to university staff. Now these staff are demonstrating against the cuts. After a pay deal, financed by the Scottish Government of £4.5 million of additional funding, lecturers will receive starting salaries of nearly £42,000 from September 2025. Senior lecturers will get more than £50,000. Perhaps those striking could hold up placards saying "I am only getting £42,000 but deserve more" and see the public response. It is the Scottish taxpayers who fund part of the university staff salaries. The public sector and universities should not be closeted from reality and job cuts are obviously needed to balance the books. Clark Cross, Linlithgow. Tree planting targets have been missed (Image: PA) Our NHS can be woeful I was interested to see Andy Maciver remove the rose-coloured spectacles about our 'wonderful' NHS ("Time to talk about debunking the NHS as a national cult", The Herald, June 27). In the last eight years I have been in hospital five times and on each occasion mistakes (some more serious than others) were made in my treatment. Doctors (including consultants) and nurses need better supervision so that patients do not require unnecessary additional hospital visits. Marion Carson, Dunblane. Venice Lagoon or Whiting Bay? Forty million pounds. That's how much the billionaire Jeff Bezos spent on his obscenely lavish wedding in Venice. Maybe the Scottish Government could have persuaded him to buy a working ferry and have the wedding on Arran. Ian Smith, Troon.
The Herald Scotland
01-06-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Starmer has just done more for Scotland than Swinney will ever do
Anyone associated with the EU needs to be aware that the SNP is far too leaky a vessel to be putting much hope in. We used to say that the only thing it was really interested in was in achieving independence. Now, we cannot even say that with any conviction. The few survivors of its many internal battles are really just in it for themselves. My sense is that the UK Prime Minister has moved things along in a positive direction. Good for him. His deal will do much more for Scotland that than nice Mr Swinney ever will. Victor Clements, Aberfeldy. What's behind the rise of Reform Re your Hamilton by-election preview ('Can SNP fight off the threat from Reform and Labour?', May 25): the rise of Reform even in Scotland is a protest against the incompetence of the Tories and Labour at Westminster, and the SNP here. It's a phenomenon we see in other countries: populism as a reaction to the excesses of the governing, globalist uniparties. Just look at France, Germany and the USA; the "left-behinds" with their pitchforks are understandably on the march. George Morton, Rosyth. Read more letters Fighting hunger in our schools The heart-wrenching revelations in your report on children facing debilitating hunger in Scotland's schools ('One-quarter of children 'too hungry to learn' in schools', May 25) must not be ignored. It is an indictment on our society that many young learners are deprived of the basic necessity of food, undermining their educational opportunities and overall wellbeing. As a nation, we pride ourselves on our commitment to equality and opportunity; however, these ideals often fail to reach the heart of our educational system, where hunger has become an all-too-common companion. Philosopher Aristotle wisely stated: "The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet." Our education system has always been a cornerstone for fostering future generations, yet if our children are turning up to school hungry, we are, in essence, planting seeds in barren ground. Children who struggle with hunger are often unable to focus, engage, or perform well academically. The sobering fact that a significant portion of our school population relies on food banks and charitable donations to meet their daily nutritional needs requires immediate action. Local councils and the Government must mobilise efforts to expand free meal programmes, making it a basic entitlement rather than an exception. Schools should serve healthy, balanced meals that not only provide physical nourishment but also educate children about sustainable living and nutrition. Community engagement plays a vital role in addressing and solving this crisis. Initiatives that involve families, local businesses, and food producers can create a support network that ensures children are fed throughout the school day. This collaborative effort can rejuvenate local economies by creating jobs and fostering partnerships in food production and distribution. Furthermore, as Benjamin Franklin stated, "a good conscience is a soft pillow". It is incumbent upon us to ensure that no child suffers the indignity and distraction of hunger in our classrooms. We must mobilise civic leadership, political will, and community compassion to eradicate food insecurity as a barrier to educational achievement. The implications of this approach extend beyond the classroom. With sufficient nourishment, our children will not only thrive academically, they will also grow into healthier adult citizens capable of contributing positively to society. By investing in the future of our children today, we cultivate hope, resilience, and prosperity for tomorrow. In summary, let us heed the call to action posed by your coverage. Let us ensure that every child enters school not just with hopes and dreams, but also with the tangible means to realise them. Remember, the future is most certainly at stake here. Alastair Majury, Dunblane. Trump is right on oil and gas Donald Trump is quite right in his view that Aberdeen could be an oil hub for decades to come. With modern oil and gas extraction techniques even the life of depleted fields can be extended by many years to maximise on investment returns. The SNP's position of early closure of the North Sea, which is fanned by the Scottish Greens, would inevitably lead to thousands of oil workers being dumped on the dole as there are no alternative energy jobs available in the short term. Dennis Forbes Grattan, Aberdeen. Council's war on businesses The news revealed in a response to your FoI request that Glasgow City Council has raked in £1.7 million from its LEZ scheme with a total of over 68,000 fines being levied ("'Reinvested back to city': Glasgow drivers fined £1.7m in LEZ fines since 2023", May 25) surely confirms that the LEZ is primarily seen by the council as a money-making scheme with no thought given to the businesses, residents or charities affected by it. If any proof is needed of the council's contempt for the residents and businesses of Glasgow it is surely shown by the news reported recently in your sister paper the Glasgow Times that bus users face significant disruption for 18 months due to roadworks at the Buchanan Bus Station associated with the council's Avenues Project, the same poorly planned, shoddily constructed and ruinously expensive fiasco which devastated Sauchiehall Street and Cambridge Street. In its seemingly never-ending war of attrition with city centre businesses Glasgow City Council has, through a combination of bus lanes and gates, the LEZ and ever-increasing parking restrictions and charges, made it virtually impossible to visit the city centre for any purpose by car; now it seems intent on making it even more difficult to use the bus. I note that one of the services facing "significant disruption" is the 500, the bus from Glasgow Airport. As a Glaswegian I am already cringing at the mess which will greet visitors to this once-proud city due to the roadworks and the revamp of George Square. I recently visited Duke Street where the seemingly-abandoned Avenues project roadworks have left this now much-narrowed road an eyesore of traffic cones, collapsed barriers and unusable pavements. Surely at the very least finish one area before starting another? The council seems intent on an ego trip that is turning Glasgow city centre into one giant building site. Surely the council tax and business rates payers deserve better? Rather than finding ways to make it more difficult to visit the city centre which is in a state of decline the council should stop wasting money on ill-conceived vanity projects and sort out Glasgow's disjointed, unreliable and expensive public transport. Billy Gold, Glasgow. Glasgow's LEZ has raised £1.7 million in fines since 2023 (Image: Colin Mearns) Why make excuses for Putin? Like Hitler, Vladmir Putin is a psychopath unrestrained by any sort of morality. The reasons he gives for attacking his neighbours seems to me to come straight from Hitler's playbook of excuses for his aggression in the 1930s. I struggle to understand why so many, like George Morton (Letters, May 25) are so ready to make excuses for him. Ukraine was never any sort of threat to Russia. It gave up the nuclear weapons on its soil in return for Russia's guarantee of its independence. The EU, which Ukraine seeks to join, is not a military alliance, while Nato is a defensive alliance which will only act if a member is attacked. Since the notional end of the Cold War military spending by Nato members, including the USA, has fallen considerably, which scarcely suggests aggressive intent. After a brief hiatus, Russia resumed its nuclear arms programme, explaining the tardy support of the USA and Nato generally for Ukraine. No country or alliance is going to attack nuclear-armed Russia. The EU is an organisation based on human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Does that explain why Presidents Trump and Putin loathe it? Hitler would not have liked it either. Ronald Cameron, Banavie.
