Time to do away with the myths of housing associations

A lot of what was said in the article is part of the myth-making housing associations and politicians of all parties have found convenient over the years. Housing associations are private companies. They have been used since the 1980s to pass the burden of debt from the taxpayer to the tenant, with a built-in profit for the "investors". It was a Tory idea, it has suited SNP housebuilding, and neither the Greens, Labour nor Shelter have a problem with it. It is not a sustainable model. It doesn’t redistribute property wealth.

A solution to the housing crisis is far off so long as housing professionals (public and private) and politicians are allowed to dominate the debate in line with their own personal agendas. I’m sure many of them were brought up in council housing and came from poverty before that. However, too many of them are distant from these roots now and won’t listen to the experience of their own social housing tenants.

Tommy Lusk, Dumbarton.

Let ministers copy civil servants

HAS Lord Alli bought any influence among ministers?

Have expensive gifts to individuals been allowed to steer any ministerial actions since the first week of July?

I would guess the answer is no. Otherwise damage is crouching to spring.

Accepting many desirable gifts is not wise for people at the pinnacle of public life, but nothing is new except the scale of giving and the sudden publicity about it.

Perhaps ministers should work to the much more restrictive rules applied to civil servants. That’s how the public mood is sounding.

It was not crazed anti-European policy which forced Boris Johnson out office, not even the dictatorship of the squalid personal adviser. The public boiled over because Downing Street was partying amid restrictions and tragedies with no farewell. That did not show leadership or respect.

Ministers who understand the public and want to offer leadership need to avoid a certain kind of gesture. Too much donated luxury can come across as Herodian and decadent. Some people will hasten to assume it signals habitual corruption.

Tim Cox, Bern, Switzerland.

Read more letters

• Starmer blew his big chance to show himself to be a statesman
• Politicians must wise up to the reality of our energy supply

Elite corruption was commonplace

THE exposé of Al-Fayed's unacceptable treatment of his employees has blown the lid off the sewer where the great and good can indulge their sexual appetites.

It starkly reveals what those with power and wealth think about the small people whom they use to fulfil their sexual desires.

Of course, there were employees who conspired with their boss to bring his desires to fruition, beefing up their bank accounts taking precedence over their duty of care towards those who became victims of Al Fayed's lust for young flesh.

Since the owner of Harrods mixed with high society, there must have been some people at that level who were aware of the rumours surrounding his perverse activities while others must have known exactly what he was up to. Anyone with a conscience would surely have felt like blowing a whistle to call time on his sleazy antics.

However, what may have held back anyone who might have thought of pulling the rug out from under Al-Fayed's feet was the complicity of corruption, the fear of finding their immoral conduct coming to light and seeing their names in banner headlines.

As for the victims, who might have felt like exposing the sordidness of their boss's behaviour, there were warnings about unemployability being their lot, sinister suggestions that the firm knew where their relatives lived if they dared to open their mouths. That code of omerta sealed the lips of all those tempted to be whistleblowers during Al-Fayed's lifetime.

We know that there were people who took steps to make sure some young women were protected from his unwanted advances. The testimony of the manager of Fulham FC's women's team is there for all to see When we look at the cases involving Savile, Epstein and Weinstein, who were all feted at the highest levels and kept company with so many important personages,we all have to realise that the corruption practised by Al-Fayed was commonplace at elite levels thanks to the power and wealth of of those participating who made sure they were protected from investigations which could reveal their misconduct.

Denis Bruce, Bishopbriggs.

Think about why war happens

MOST adults today who studied history or international relations will have learned about deaths attributed to both Stalin and Mao; fewer may know about those killed by Japan. But your correspondent Geoff Moore (Letters, September 22) when mentioning this, having spoken approvingly of compulsory teaching about the Holocaust in schools, inspired me to think about other numbers which may not be known.

For example, it's very hard to collate the number of people killed as a result of Nato intervention in their country or region. The numbers of US military deaths since 1775 - in 250 years - is only 1.3 million (Statista.com) Terrifyingly, in the post 9/11"war on terror" 4.7 million people have died, 3.8, of them "indirectly" (Wikipedia). I wouldn't know where to begin to find the numbers of civilians "indirectly" killed in Latin America or other places perceived to be in the US "back yard".

Might I humbly suggest that rather than studying the Holocaust, Stalin, Mao and the Japanese as Mr Moore desires, it might be time to start thinking about why war happens, why so much money is wasted on researching, deploying and utilising better ways of killing people rather than improving their lives. I write as a former US citizen who grew up in a very patriotic family and I am deeply saddened that a country that was founded on hope and freedom has, in the course of "policing" the world, strayed so far from its founding ideals and is currently bankrolling and equipping mass slaughter in the Middle East. Remembering the Holocaust does not excuse or justify the mass slaughter of little children in the 21st century.

Marjorie Thompson, Edinburgh.

Electric boilers not the answer

I MUST correct Elizabeth Marshall (Letters, September 22). The Scottish Government has never recommended electric boilers; the only person likely to recommend an electric boiler or direct electric heating is the salesman trying to make commission from a sale.

Direct electric heating (panel or convector) is 100% efficient and this is used to encourage a sale without pointing out that electricity costs are about three times more than gas for the same heat energy so it is inevitable that it will be at least three times as expensive to run.

With a wet electric boiler, either instantaneous or storage type with a large storage cylinder, there will also be heat loss in the distribution to radiators.

The Scottish Government is encouraging a transition from heating which generates carbon dioxide to electric heating which does not add to climate change.

Any independent energy advisor would have advised a domestic consumer to either keep using a gas boiler, especially if it is still working, or consider a heat pump where possible, as a heat pump will provide over 3 KW of heat energy for 1 KW of electrical energy, making it similar to a gas boiler for running costs.

The present high cost of heat pumps will reduce as they become more established, however the Scottish Government provides a grant of £7,500 or £9,000 if you live in a rural area, to assist with the installation of a heat pump (it does not provide any grants for electric boilers).

As pointed out in previous letters the cost of electricity, most of which is generated from renewable sources in Scotland, is unrealistically high and if this is ever reduced then a heat pump will be significantly cheaper to run than gas central heating.

An individual heat pump for each property is always likely to be the cheapest and most efficient way to provide electric heating as a district heating system, which would almost certainly include a heat pump, has additional efficiency losses due to the heat loss from the pipes and the energy required to pump the heating medium around potentially long pipes.

There will be circumstances where a district heating system is the best option especially where it is difficult to install individual heat pumps or where there is additional waste heat available.

If you want impartial advice about energy or heating systems don’t ask a salesman or any questionable website: go to Home Energy Scotland (tel 0808 808 2282), your local council Home Energy Advice Team, if available, or Citizens Advice.

Iain McIntyre, Sauchie.

The price of heat pumps is expected to come down (Image: Getty)

An alternative to prison release plan

JOHN Swinney has been forced to admit that the SNP plan to reduce Scottish prison numbers has been a complete failure with the prison population numbers reaching 8,241, higher than it was before the plan was introduced ("Agony of victims as Swinney admits failure of releasing prisoners early", September 22).

Victims of serious crime feel neglected with the early release of violent prisoners and the increased risk to their safety. The only sensible way forward is for the SNP to provide increased funding for community service schemes that keep offenders out of prison and give them a better opportunity to re-engage in society without criminal behaviour.

Dennis Forbes Grattan, Aberdeen.