Letters to the press, 25/10/21: It came as no surprise to read that more is spent in Scotland on school pupils than in anywhere else in the UK. That it is £800 per pupil did come as a bit of a shock. What did also not come as a surprise was to learn that this increase in spending did not translate into better standards and performance.

IT came as no surprise to read that more is spent in Scotland on school pupils than in anywhere else in the UK. That it is £800 per pupil did come as a bit of a shock. What did also not come as a surprise was to learn that this increase in spending did not translate into better standards and performance. Throwing money at something does not fix it. The Curriculum for Excellence has been criticised for many years now and the dabbling round the edges is not making any improvements. In 2015, the First Minister asked to be judged on education, stating that she was prepared to “put her neck on the line on the education of our young people”. Of course, this was an empty promise as we watch the attainment gap rise in many areas, while she points out the one or two areas where it has narrowed. Investing in our education system needs input from experienced teachers who know how to get the best out of pupils, not throwing good money after bad. Jane Lax, Aberlour.

Scotland is a relatively small country with many rugged areas of natural beauty. Small communities living in these scarcely populated areas have always had to put up with poorer public services and infrastructure. Those of us who live in such areas are penalised simply for where we are born. And yet these communities are and have always been a part of Scotland, historically and culturally. Basic human rights such as healthcare, the right to travel, the right to employment and to a range of simple human needs and services should not be left unfulfilled because of your proximity or otherwise to the country’s main administrative centres. Living in Dunoon (hardly remote) my autistic son has been failed by public services all his young life. After a recent and severe crisis, we have been informed that our health authority has only one functioning adolescent psychiatrist. We fall under High-land Health Board and the specialist is based in Inverness! In Argyll, I do not think anyone could defend the current Scottish Government-run debacle that is Calmac. We are also affected by the ongoing Rest and be Thankful farce. Meanwhile, the silence from our MSP and MP continues to be deafening. After a decade and a half of SNP government, many had expected improvement, not decline to our essential services and infrastructure. Our government is always happy to promote our beautiful country for its own benefit but it’s high time that they provided fairly for those of us who live there. DUNCAN, Dunoon, Argyll & Bute.

DAVID J Crawford has criticised my stance on the SNP’s handling of the NHS (letters, October 15). He also implies that independence is the only solution. Where are the details? Saying it is worse in England does nothing to help Scottish patients. Now we hear that NHS Lanarkshire, one of Scotland’s bi est health boards, is in trouble. Where is the urgently needed support, not just the usual promise of more money, from the SNP? Where are the practical ideas on the frontline to help from our SNP Cabinet Secretary for Health? The current fully-devolved NHS is in meltdown and it is not money that is the solution and it certainly isn’t independence. It is a competent government with competent ministers. Does Mr Crawford think our present incumbents qualify? Dr Gerald Edwards, Glasgow.

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