Time to focus on the key issues

Sir, – Last week we had a very unacceptable statement from the First Minister, threatening to bring in legislation to keep some types of HGVs off the roads in bad weather after some had dared to make journeys when there was snow on the ground and more still falling.

The Scottish Government, Transport Scotland and BEAR Scotland all had clear warnings from the Met Office of what was coming and when it was coming, but still failed to keep major routes open despite the assertions from the transport minister that they had all the resources they needed.

Obviously, they did not manage these resources properly or we wouldn’t have had up to 1,000 vehicles stuck overnight on the M8.

As for using legislative powers to ban some HGVs from our roads, this is a bit rich coming from the First Minister when she doesn’t even drive herself and has the luxury of a salary being paid into her bank account whether she is at work or not.

Spare a moment to consider all the selfemployed delivery drivers, hourly paid delivery drivers and those operating in a franchise who only get paid when they are working.

There are many others who could not get to their places of work last week due to the inadequacies of this government and have suffered a financial penalty as a result.

Many delivery drivers operate with a tachograph and have to adhere to the strict rules governing the number of consecutive hours they are permitted to drive before taking a break.

This puts pressure on the drivers and the haulage industry but has been accepted on the grounds of road safety.

Any further restrictive legislation would only force up the cost of transport and impact on virtually everything in our shops.

The Scottish Government needs to get a focus on those issues that they are responsible for delivering (no pun intended) and start ensuring the efficient execution of their duties and those of the various agencies they control.

And before some ardent nationalist starts blaming Westminster, these are devolved matters that have been fully funded but just mismanaged by their inadequate leaders in Holyrood. Colin Young. Meadowland, Dunning.