The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
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that are not open to the Scottish government because Westminster has imposed fiscal restrictions that prevents it from so doing.
The only option open to it is to vary the basic rate of personal income tax, which Westminster knows only too well is a vote loser.
So, when Westminster cuts the budget – as it has done year on year for some time – the cash available for our devolved areas has to be rationed even further, and this would apply no matter which party is in control at Holyrood.
This makes it easy for the opposition to complain about shortfalls in the areas that are closer to their priorities, but no matter how you allocate money within the limits of a finite allocation of funds, the gain to one area will be a loss or reduction to another.
The suggestion that the welfare system has been abused is not disputed, but it is a bit rich for those who are in receipt of subsidies to dismiss others, whose circumstances are not fully known, by a blanket criticism implying scrounging.
A bit like a street busker who has a talent decrying a fellow reward seeker who is just sitting in a shop doorway with a hat at his feet, simply because he lacks the talent to do anything else. to find signs in Gaelic in all areas – even in the loos.
I am fully aware of the fixation of members of the SNP to try to portray an aura of Scottishness in every corner of the land, but surely this attempt to give visitors to Scotland the impression that we Scots speak a different language to the rest of the UK is one step too far.
In the 2011 census it was revealed the number of Gaelic speakers in Scotland was 57,375 (1% of the population).
Presumably since then this number has continued to decline.
The position in Wales and Ireland is a bit more encouraging.
Recent statistics indicate that there are 562,000 Welsh speakers (19% of the population), while in Ireland, apparently 85,000 use Irish on a daily basis, but 1,770,000 claim that they are still able to understand the language.
While I am sure most Scots are fully cognisant of the fact that certainly in the gaidhealtachd area of the west coast and Hebrides Gaelic was, and to some extent still is, the traditional language.
But it should be noted that there was also much Norse influence on the west and north-west, while Doric and Lallans were prevalent in the north-east and Borders respectively.
Also, in some parts of the border land between Scotland and England, Brythonic Celtic or Welsh were in common use at one time.
It is high time the SNP politicians gave up on their attempt to ‘Scoticise’ everything.
Brigadoon lost its flavour in the theatrical world a long time ago.
What we need in Scotland today is sound government at both parliamentary and local council levels.
Forget all this nonsense about seeking independence from the UK.
The electorate of Scotland was quite clear in its answer to that question in the 2014 referendum.
Scotland’s annual budget is an allocation of funds from Westminster based on an agreed formula and can be accurately described as pocket money from parent to child
Robert IG Scott. Northfield, Ceres, Fife. Allan A MacDougall. 37 Forth Park, Bridge of Allan.