Readers' Letters; Aberdeen tourist tax is a terrible idea that will punish local people

This is nothing short of yet another stealth tax grab on Joe Public, a tax masked as tourism based, when in reality anyone with an AB postcode using hotels will be forced to pay. That said, asylum seekers and refugees will be exempt from the tax… how does that work when our hotels are already filling up with these immigrants paid for by the taxpayer? Are we expecting them to come out of the Shire and into the city centre using their free bus passes, to do what exactly, spend money they don't have and support our economy?

This will put Aberdeen on the map for all the wrong reasons. We are told this tax will help Aberdeen become a “leading visitor destination”. How on earth is this possible when the actions of our councillors have effectively killed the city centre?

This is a hotel tax, not a tourism tax, and it will punish those from the Shire, like myself, wishing to spend money in Aberdeen and stay overnight. Aberdeen city is not a tourist destination, it is increasingly difficult and costly to access. This latest punishment will only further damage businesses in the city and encourage those in the Shire to stay away. Aberdeen city is fast becoming a nightmare for visitors and the councillors who have voted for this should resign with immediate effect and hang their incompetent heads in shame.

Scotland is the highest taxed part of the UK and we are being taxed again to stay in our own locality. It is beyond comprehension such a scheme could be dreamt up, one can only assume that the councillors who have done so are totally detached from reality, with not one shred of business acumen or common sense between them. It’s time for Reform and it’s time for change.

Conrad Ritchie, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire

Degree of fault

One cannot be sad at the financial difficulties Scottish Universities find themselves in. One of the most common causes of business failure is over-rapid expansion, and this is exactly what universities have done. The situation is not entirely of their doing, it is partly due to the SNP’s policy of "free university education", which of course is nothing of the sort.

Monies given by the SNP government have not kept pace with inflation, so universities have had to resort to importing students from abroad who pay more. Also, universities are not allowed to accept all qualified Scottish students as there is a cap on their numbers so some Scots have to go to England and pay the fees there.

However, there are just too many people going to university these days – over 55 per cent of an age group. This means people of below average intelligence are at university. They should instead be at Further Education colleges learning skills needed in the economy.

The SNP government needs to give more money to universities and to FE, which they have starved even more than universities.

And universities need to cut back on numbers, and where there are two or more universities in any town (Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow) eliminate duplication of courses or share staff.

Colin McAllister, St Andrews, Fife

Cheesed off

The news that 13 farms producing 20 million litres of milk a year have had their supply contracts terminated by cheese maker Cathedral City – doubtless in the hope of forcing even greater concessions – should be the final straw for British farmers. For too long, the tail has wagged the dog on the supply of our nation's food and drink.

Here's a great idea – the NFU creates its own supply chain, so all milk in the UK is sold via them as overall agents. If milk produce manufacturers and the Big Four supermarkets refuse to pay an acceptable minimum price amount per litre, they get none – let's see how long their businesses survive on expensive imported milk!

As Enoch Powell wisely pointed out, the problem with trade unions in the UK was always they never appreciated their true bargaining power in a capitalist society, but instead behave as permanent victims always seeking “justice”. Market forces cuts both ways. If they negotiate in the same manner as their “oppressors” – especially when, as in this case, they actually hold all the aces (or rather, the milk churns!) – they can easily strike the best deal for their members.

Which in the case of the NFU, that most benevolent part of the British trade union system, is, after all, their raison d'etre.

Mark Boyle, Johnstone, Renfrewshire

Empty slogans

The SNP’s propaganda machine has a limited number of by now hackneyed propaganda slogans: “Brexit Britain”, “Scotland’s resources”, “the Union is no longer fit for purpose”, “time to realise an independent future”. These are not exhaustive, but they are the ones Stan Grodynski (Letters, 14 February) trots out yet again.

The SNP propaganda office tells believers that Scotland owns vast resources (and, risibly, that England has none), and that England covets and “steals” them. These resources are identified, extracted, developed and sold by private companies – sold to whoever will pay their price, regardless of whether they are in Scotland, England or anywhere else. Creating a scenario where bogeyman Nigel Farage will use “Scotland’s resources for the future benefit of England’s economy” is prejudiced paranoia based on ignorance.

As for Scotland needing to have “a direct relationship with the European Union”, like Northern Ireland (NI), the ineluctable fact is that NI has a common border with an EU state and Scotland does not.

As for Mr Grodynski’s demand that the Scottish Parliament be able to choose a vote on Scotland’s constitutional future, why should one part of a country have the choice of breaking that country up? Which European state permits that? For the avoidance of doubt, I write as a confirmed Remainer.

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh

Where’s the sense?

Two news articles in yesterday’s Scotsman highlight two areas of staffing and funding.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies reports that the number of school attendees will fall by 12.5 per cent over the next 15 years (“SNP told to cut teachers to save £500m a year”). The SNP government, however, is looking to give councils over £185m to replace 621 teaching posts that were axed last year, and still claim they will recruit an additional 3,500 teachers by next year. At a time when money is tight, what is the logic behind this? We have on average 13-14 pupils per teacher and class sizes would fall to 12 per teacher if the current teacher numbers were maintained.

On the other hand, we have our Scottish NHS which is struggling to cope with demand, waiting lists, delayed discharge and funding. Neil Gray, our part-time Health Secretary, part-time Aberdeen football fan, committed, according to Unison, to gradually reduce the NHS working week from 37.5 hrs to 36. How does he envisage making up for the lost hours? Will staff be asked to work overtime or will agency staff be employed?

Do politicians have their common sense removed on entering Holyrood? How can it make sense to increase the number of staff in education where demand is falling but cut hours in the SNHS where demand is rising and the system is failing?

Jane Lax, Aberlour, Moray

Help the nurses

The alarming trend of increasing nurse departures from Scotland’s NHS raises serious concerns about the future of healthcare in our nation (“Worrying fall in nursing applicants as milestone SNP Government report makes 44 recommendations”, 13 February). The fact that more nurses are leaving the profession while fewer are choosing to enter it should serve as a wake-up call for our policymakers, particularly under the SNP administration. Empty boasts about workforce numbers ring hollow in the face of reality, where patients are becoming the collateral damage of these failures.

The challenges facing nurses, including poor working conditions and inadequate support, have been exacerbated by years of neglect in addressing these pressing issues. The government must prioritise creating a supportive environment that encourages retention and recruitment of healthcare professionals. A concerted effort is necessary to implement meaningful reforms, rather than continuing the cycle of promises without real action.

Moreover, it is imperative that we listen to those on the frontlines – our nurses – who know first-hand the struggles within the system. Only by genuinely engaging with healthcare workers can we hope to rebuild trust and ensure our NHS remains a pillar of society. Scotland's health services depend on nurses, and it is high time we put their welfare at the forefront of our political agenda. A failure to act now is a failure to protect Scotland’s health in the years to come.

Alastair Majury, Dunblane, Stirling

Success formula

You don't need a rainbow to find a pot of gold in the Highlands. Just an iconic estate, usually an absentee landlord, a wealthy multinational wind developer with global investment company shareholders, an insatiable lust for money, a disregard for the natural environment and your neighbours, a complicit government and a bullied, cash strapped and stressed community.

Lyndsey Ward, Communities B4 Power, Companies, Beauly, Highland

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