Sir Humphrey would not find a warm welcome in corridors of Holyrood

Sir, – In the letter (Train farce is no laughing matter May 20) Ms Lax attempts to spin the current ScotRail timetable problems on to the Scottish Government and uses the BBC sitcom Yes Minister, and I presume also Yes Prime Minister, as a model for the Scottish Government.

This is very lazy of her to attempt to paint Holyrood with the same brush with which Westminster has been heavily tarnished.

Working on rest days, this being the cause of the reduction in rail services in Scotland caused by the lack of trained drivers, is not new – it was identified several years ago under Abellio’s management and has been the situation in ScotRail.

It just didn’t happen seven weeks ago, as Ms Lax implies falsely.

Scotland and the UK are still governed by, to some extent, democracy, in that we do not have a controlled economy, where people are directed to perform defined tasks ( jobs) by diktat...yet.

For this reason, people are rightly allowed rest days, to ensure that they are fit to work, to meet the required standard of performance. This is all right and proper.

Meanwhile, down south, the RMT Union is in dispute with Network Rail, where in September a 10% reduction in workforce, a 50% reduction in rail safety maintenance work and an open ended pay freeze with attacks on their working conditions is being planned by Network Rail. These are the RMT views, Network Rail may have a different views.

The RMT vote for strike action was originally due to complete on this coming Tuesday – though a new 4.2% pay offer may yet stave off any threatened strike action. There is to be a new ballot of members on this.

Ms Lax either doesn’t read London-based news media, or doesn’t wish to comment on it as it detracts from her point.

However, we need not worry our little heads, the Yes Minister sitcom will be at an end soon, as all is well. Mr Blobby Johnson has taken action to “clean out” the Downing Street staff, after “partygate”.

I read that they (presumably, Cabinet Office ministers ) are talking to the FDA (First Division Association) – the civil service unions – on the severance pays and changes in job roles.

It would be good to see the outcome of these changes, and the payments made to affected civil servants, as part of the open government purported to be part of the levelling up agenda.

Alistair Ballantyne. Birkhill,

Angus.