Sad indictment

Sir,

Last week, on Monday October 18, a Radio 2 listener told Ken Bruce on air that they were going to have a break on the beautiful Isle of Arran, usually great publicity for the island, but on this occasion not so much as Ken Bruce said: ‘If the ferry sails and you get there.’

Word is getting out across the UK and further afield that Scotland’s ferry services to the Western and Clyde islands are in chaos.

If there is not to be irreparable further damage to the economies of our islands the Scottish Government has to get rid of the present management of CalMac, remove CMAL altogether and appoint managers that have an understanding of running lifeline ferry services.

There also needs to be a complete clear out of the ineffective managers hired by the hapless Drummond and return to having the customer at the forefront of the running of the company, Yours,

Charles Currie, Blackwaterfoot.

A Scottish Parliamentary Information Centre Briefing paper on Gross Value Added may paint a different picture.

It says that: ‘The largest industry in the Scottish economy (as is true elsewhere in the UK) is owner-occupiers unknowingly letting their own houses to themselves.’

This is due to what they dub the ‘imputed rental of owner occupiers’.

So on Arran does the income from tourists exceed the rental income that the powers that be suppose is coming from home owners renting their homes to themselves? I’d love to know.

In any case it shows how bonkers the housing market is.

It’s long forgotten now but David Cameron’s government’s housing adviser promised house price stability. That went well, didn’t it.

I agree with Tom Tracey, its time to build council housing. Plenty of land is for sale on Arran – give North Ayrshire Council the cash to snap it up.

Yours,

Alistair McIntosh,

Lamlash.