Readers Letters: Are you sure UK can't afford pensions triple lock?

Criticism of the cost of retirement pensions, and in particular the triple lock, seems to be a favourite topic among a large proportion of the media and certain political parties.

The main theme is the unaffordability of pensions and the triple lock, with some insultingly calling it a “benefit”. And now there is talk of cutting the triple lock to fund free social care in England.

My understanding is that retirement pensions are funded mainly through the payments of NI contributions. If this is correct, the yearly amount raised last year from NI contributions was £200 billion, rising to £220bn this year. The yearly amount paid out in retirement pensions, including triple lock increases, is £154bn. If the social care reform cost is correct, it will cost £18bn. This will will bring a total cost of £172bn.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has signalled a willingness to look at reviewing or ending the state pension triple lock

How, then, are the retirement pension (with triple lock) and free social care in England not affordable?

The triple lock was introduced to tackle pensioner poverty due to the fact that the UK retirement pension rate is one of the lowest among the G7 and European countries. Are all these discussions about the triple lock less about affordability and more about a dismissive attitude towards the elderly?

As an aside, pensioners in Scotland already receive free social care from their central government. If this is introduced to England, Wales and NI, will the scrapping of the triple lock to pay for this also apply to Scottish pensioners, who will then, in effect be paying extra for free social care in other UK countries.

Paul Lewis, Edinburgh

RIP Education

Reference The Scotsman splash on Scottish schools and the suggestion to remove them from council control (“Take schools away from councils, new report urges”, 29 September). I knew the Scottish education system was poorly but I fear I just read its epitaph.

I would quote Private Frazer from Dad’s Army – “We’re Doomed! Doomed!” – if it wasn’t so serious. This smells like an SNP-requested report to produce a preordained solution to hand control to an unaccountable Holyrood created body which will have no requirement to take heed of the customers’ (parents, population, students) needs, changes or demographics – in other words yet more SNP centralisation by the back door. Look at Calmac, a wholly owned subsidiary of David MacBrayne Ltd, which is entirely owned by the Scottish government and ask how that has gone.

Neil Robertson, Edinburgh

A better idea

Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth is asking the public to engage in discussions about the proposal to reform Local Government.

A more useful proposal would be reform of the Scottish Parliament, with a view to its shrinking it by at least half, so releasing the funding required by Local Authorities, which functioned efficiently before the Scottish Executive morphed into the completely inefficient Scottish Parliament we, the Scottish electorate, are lumbered with today.

Jane Ball, Edinburgh

Public reforms

The Scottish government’s proposals on public sector reform published last week are welcome but they don’t go far enough. They need more courage because these reform moments only come along every few decades.

They propose Regional Authorities, something which is well overdue, but six are enough to cover Scotland and they should be: Highland, Central Scotland, East Scotland, West Scotland, South Scotland and Islands

Their big mistake is what services they will provide, an area where they are a bit light on service suggestions, so let me suggest a few others.

Health is the biggest public service that has never been subject to democratic control at a local level, a huge democratic deficient since its inception in 1948. Each of the Regional Councils should become responsible for health services in their areas, both primary care and hospitals.

Next, all Emergency Services should be devolved to the Regional Authorities, who would each have an integrated emergency and public safety service led by an appointed Director reporting to a committee of the regional authority, responsible for Police Fire and Ambulance and all the personnel and assets.

Another four services that should be devolved to the Regional Authorities are Transport, Benefits, Further Education and Economic Development, with staff from existing bodies or Departments transferred across.

Lastly, every one of Scotland’s 132 quangos would be reviewed as to their suitability for devolving their services or part of their services to Regional Authorities. Quango staff would be entitled to apply for suitable jobs in the regions if the service was transferred to democratic control.

Finally, the Island Regional Council should have total control both strategic and operational over ferries as part of their Transport Brief.

Donald Stavert, Bathgate, West Lothian

Teed up

Not Coul and many others have been campaigning for over a decade to stop the advance of a half-baked golf course proposal on Coul Links, a world-class triple-protected coastal wetland, sand-dune habitat and biodiversity hotspot.

The announcement of a third course at the Royal Dornoch Golf Club (“World-famous Scottish golf club details plans for new course amid ‘chronic oversubscription’,” 25 September) is the best thing that could have happened and vindicates all we have been saying. It deftly negates, at a stroke, Communities for Coul's argument that an experimental course at Coul Links is needed to attract visitors to the area for longer. RDGC already have a customer base and the expertise to build. It seems their plans and designs are advanced. It’s a good opportunity for Dornoch to soak up those visitors, and good luck to them. With RDGC’s plans, they can sidestep the stiff wind of competition and the risk of a ruthless American Mega-Emperor of Golf bearing down on them and cutting into their share of the golfing pie.

Nobody wants to see RDGC forced to have to undercut its prices and fail, which is a distinct risk if Ministers approve the golf course proposal on Coul Links.

RDGC is a Members’ Club. Many local people make use of their celebrated course, and the Club itself has a significant track record of positive community engagement. We encourage it to recognise the overwhelming view that another golf course at Coul Links would simply spread the jam thinner, and harm the town’s long term prospects.

John Campbell for Not Coul, Dornoch, Highland

Indy costs

It was unfortunate that William Deans did not include two simple costs that would hit the household budget of every Scot (“Why referendum-obsessed SNP won't talk about reality of independence”, Perspective, 29 September).

The first is the £5 billion black hole in the Holyrood budget. It would require cutting around 130,000 Public Sector jobs to eliminate the shortfall. That is never going to happen, hence the only recourse open to John Swinney is to raise extra income tax to clear the debt. That is a tax increase of about £2,000 a year for every taxpayer.

The second cost is the estimated £8 billion a year Constraint Payment bill set out by the National Energy System Operator (NESO). Currently 90 per cent of the debt is paid by English consumers as there is a UK national grid.

However, independence ends such an entity, meaning the bulk of the debt would have to be paid by Scottish consumers as the majority of wind farms are in Scotland.

That is a yearly addition of around £3,100 to every Scottish consumer, resulting in a total reduction of £5,100 a year to the average take-home wage of about £30,000, leaving only £24,900 to meet the yearly cost-of-living crisis!

Ian Moir, Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway

Single complaint

Please help stamp out the misuse of “multiple” in the mistaken belief it means “many”. A multiple rocket launcher is not the same as many rocket launchers.

“Multiple” means “having several or many parts”. Consequently it refers to one object's characteristics.

Steuart Campbell, Edinburgh

Pick’n’mix caring

The Scottish Greens are very quick to protest about the inhumanity they see in Gaza but strangely nowhere else, like Sudan. So much so that they went on this subject rather than Scotland's appalling drugs deaths total at last week's First Minister's Questions. Given this deep concern for those abroad are we likely to see a similar question this week? In Iran, a well known pop singer, Parastoo Ahmadi, is facing 74 lashes. Her crime? Singing without a hijab and wearing a short sleeved dress.

Will the Scottish Greens put this outrage to our First Minister? Will they demand a boycott of Iranian goods? Will they organise protest marches in support of the oppressed Iranian population? Iran is causing the West real problems with its blockade of the Straits of Hormuz. This is Scotland's problem too. Why is only one side of the Israeli/Iran war getting all the blame from the “caring” Scottish Greens?

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

Where do I sign up?

I read that Nicola Sturgeon is to give a masterclass on leadership next year. Given she led supporters up the garden path for years on the promise of a referendum, she is well placed.

Brian Petrie, Edinburgh

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