Slim pickings

evidence of teachers, parents and educationalists who know that his centralising agenda has been an abject failure. The SNP government’s sustained attack on our most vulnerable and disadvantaged young people shames us all.

MAUREEN HENRY Lammermuir Gardens, Glasgow able in 2013 when the Scottish Government established the Scottish Welfare Fund to assist those being disproportionately affected by Westminster’s welfare reforms, and to date some £ 140 million has been paid out to those in crisis. Does the Westminster Treasury reimburse the S cottish Budget for taking such action to mitigate Westminster’s failings? J u s t a s t h o s e f i g u r e s we r e b e i ng di ge s t e d, t he i s s ue of the roll- out of Universal Credits, which has had a profound effect on those depressing figures, was once again raised at Prime Minister’s Questions by the SNP.

The S cottish Government, to have any impact on those depressing figures, needs full welfare powers to be devolved and not just the 15 per cent of the welfare spend in Scotland that is being devolved. CATRIONA C CLARK

Hawthorn Drive Banknock, Falkirk Kenny Macaskill i s r i ght t o criticise our expectations of t h e NHS a n d f a i l u r e t o f u l - fill our responsibilit y to look after ourselves. His examples of people paying a fortune for p r i v a t e g a s t r i c b a n d t r e a t - ment then expecting free NHS after care, and the huge social and economic cost of obesit y, drugs and alcohol misuse n e e d c o n t i n u a l l y r a m m e d home.

S o why didn’t he speak out previously? Especially since, unlike many of his peers, he is actually slim. A 2015 Scottish Parliament repor t says over 60 per cent of the voting population are overweight and 25 per cent obese, so who among Holyrood’s finest would offend more than half the voters, even when this costs the NHS £ 600 million a year and the overall economy between £ 900m and £ 4.6 billion. That latter figure represents 3 per cent of Scotland’s £ 150bn GDP.

I f p e o p l e a r e t o b l a me f o r many o f t h e i r h e a l t h p r o b - lems, politicians are to blame f o r n o t t e l l i n g t h e m, e s p e - cially Nicola Sturgeon. Two years ago she could walk on water and could have given t he nation t he realit y check we need.

Instead she pretended things were great, other than the fact that we are in the UK and leavi ng Europ e, so t he cure was indyref2, not a long hard look at, and a plan made for, how we turn around our economy, education, health and housing crises.

Still, help is at hand. On the SNP website a page entitled “Wh a t i s t h e S N P S c o t t i s h Gove r n ment d o i n g t o t a c kl e ob es i t y” t el l s us t hat, hot on the heels [ not] of the 2010 “long term strateg y to tackle obesity, complimented ( sic) by the Obesity Route Map Action Plan” the SNP have announce a – wait for it – consultation. We’re cured! ALLAN SUTHERLAND Willow Row, Stonehaven