SNP must use this Budget to fund real action on homelessness

We know the Scottish Government shares this aspiration; the need to prevent rising homelessness is something that every party in the Scottish Parliament supports, especially at the height of a national housing emergency.

We are collectively calling on the Scottish Government to use its upcoming Budget to fund action to prevent homelessness. That means funding to scale up the examples of inspirational work already taking place in parts of Scotland so that everyone in Scotland can benefit from earlier, preventative support as a matter of urgency.

It also means funding a series of pilots on aspects of the proposed prevention duties, outlined in Part 5 of the Housing (Scotland) Bill. Prevention, to the scale and complexity being proposed in the bill, has never been done before, anywhere. We believe this strongly warrants a programme of testing and learning.

Legislation itself is not sufficient; we know that successful delivery is what really matters.

Meghan Gallacher MSP, Scottish Conservatives; Mark Griffin MSP, Scottish Labour; Maggie Chapman MSP, Scottish Greens; Willie Rennie MSP, Scottish Liberal Democrats (all opposition spokespeople on homelessness).

Read more letters

• We must act to end unfair treatment of the Highlands
• Now can we put to bed the myth that Scotland is better than England?

Folly of chasing headlines

ROZ Foyer ("We have the revenue-raising powers we need. Use them" , The Herald, December 2) while praising the Scottish Government for “reinstating the winter fuel payment” is not explaining how we have ended where we are in Scotland.

I’m not sure if Ms Foyer is aware but it was the Scottish Government that decided to renege on this already-devolved benefit from our pensioners when the UK Government decided to change the criteria in rUK. As per the Audit Scotland report, Fiscal Sustainability and Reform released in November of this year, the SNP Government decided to divert £160 million of funding previously planned for universal winter fuel payments for pensioners in the 2024/25 budget to cover, amongst other things, generous public sector pay awards. If the SNP had not considered headlines stating it had averted strikes more important than negotiating for lower pay awards, it might have had the money to prevent our pensioners having to choose between heating and eating, Jane Lax, Aberlour.

Shooting down the experts MANY will remember Michael Gove, as a cabinet minister, saying, in relation to Brexit, "'I think the people of this country have had enough of experts’. In Scotland, experts are the bane of nationalists’ existence. Experts in various areas demonstrate the SNP’s failures in government and also the utter emptiness of SNP predictions regarding the potential condition of Scotland after leaving the UK.

The only weapon left to nationalists in the face of that is denial and a neeed to smear and discredit the experts who show the SNP up for the sham that it is. The villains of the piece are, always, the UK and Westminster, and many nationalists smear experts by saying or implying that they are lackeys in the pay of Westminster. For example, even though the late Alex Salmond in 2014 described the Scottish Government’s annual financial accounts (GERS) as "a kitemark document", nationalists rage against it, describing it as based on "Treasury figures" - when the figures are compiled by Scottish Government expert statisticians - and therefore designed to show Scotland in a poor light.

You print another example, from Mary Thomas (Letters, November 30), who is determined to try to scotch any suggestion that the English NHS is now outperforming the Scottish NHS, as shown by a study for the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Various experts agree with the IFS on this. The Chair of the BMA in Scotland, Dr Iain Kennedy, responded to a report by Audit Scotland, NHS in Scotland 2023, with the following depressing assessment: "Over recent years Audit Scotland’s annual reports have consistently raised concerns about the sustainability of NHS Scotland, but this year’s forensic and detailed assessment of our health service is staggeringly bleak and paints a picture of a health service in crisis, without a plan to address it." Rudolf Klein, in a book review in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, notes Scotland’s higher health spending than England’s and asks if more money means better results. He concludes "higher spending has not produced a healthier population".

None of this cuts any ice with Ms Thomas, who responds by smearing the IFS: "the last couple of IFS reports on Scotland were funded and questions framed by the Economic and Social Research Council, which is entirely funded by the UK Government". In other words, Ms Thomas alleges that expert researchers cannot be trusted to be impartial because they are not Scots marking their own homework. For many nationalists, anyone not with them is against them, with a malevolence that leads them dishonestly to "talk Scotland down". Even the highly-respected Fraser of Allander institute has not escaped nationalist vituperation and claims that it is funded by "unionist" sources.

How did formerly canny, intelligent and self-respecting Scots come to this pass?

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh.

Let down by the broadcasters

IF anything could better illustrate the utter triviality and irrelevance of the BBC’s contribution in and to Scotland it was its treatment of the memorial service for Alex Salmond in St Giles Cathedral last Saturday ("Alex Salmond: the political and personal side remembered", heraldscotland, November 30).

This commemorated the most significant Scottish politician of our century. Loved by some, hated by others, he dictated our present political structure and the core of current constitutional debate. The service was dignified and relevant, yet joyous. However, our national broadcaster relegated its coverage to its website and the iPlayer while the mainstream channels offered us nothing and Radio Scotland stayed with its usual Saturday morning inanities. Had it been for a minor royal, it would have been different.

I would like to say that STV did better, but all it had to offer was football.

James Scott, Edinburgh.

Did Scottish broadcasters let us down with the coverage of Alex Salmond's memorial service? (Image: PA)

Politicians deserve better

WATCHING Sky and the BBC's Sunday morning political programmes ("Another fine mess for the man wheeled out when the leadership has yet another problem", The Herald, December 2) and observing the style of three different presenters, with no wish to make any comment on the differing responses, I was struck by an ongoing practice on the part of the interviewers.

Hardly had the politicians begun their replies (which I and others wanted to hear) when they were interrupted by two to three other questions. When the panels observing the exchanges gave their views, no such thing happened.

Indeed on the main BBC programme, when a new film featuring Cate Blanchett was discussed, as the leading actress and the producer were questioned in front of the camera, no such interruptions took place. Treated as they were entitled to be with respect, the result was a much better understanding of an interesting subject.

But the real question is: why the difference?

We are constantly reminded that politicians rate somewhere below estate agents and tax collectors in public esteem. Given this trajectory is that any wonder? In my time in politics, I can only recall such an approach - as well as bad manners watched by youngsters who may have been viewing - being challenged on air. One was by the late Sir John Nott when he walked out of the studio following an arrogantly posed question by Sir Robin Day, and another from John Reid in response to a provocative and patronising introduction from Jeremy Paxton.

Reputations are bound to be low when the widespread tone of cynicism is displayed before a word is spoken.

To be fair, at least on this occasion, The Sunday Show which followed was an excellent example of how broadcasters should behave. Given the much more dangerous world since my time in politics - Jo Cox, Sir David Amess and more - it seems to me that it is time for broadcasters to have a look at themselves and for politicians to expect a fairer approach.

Sir Tom Clarke, Former MP for Coatbridge, Coatbridge.