Hands off elderly

Here we go again. All that the “tax, spend and waste” governments can do to fund public services is to increase taxes, when the correct thing to do is reduce profligate expenditure.

Westminster now wishes to target over-65s who continue to work, by imposing on them a “care tax” in the form of National Health Insurance (NHI) contributions.

They seem to forget that older workers have made their NHI contributions, in the same way as employees who choose to retire at 65. Also, many people work beyond 65 as they do not have the final salary, index-linked pension enjoyed by public sector staff. In other cases, employees did not have access to any works pension.

The answer for the public sector in Scotland is to reduce pension rights, or increase contributions, “release” employees from the multiple layers of management , reduce the number of local authorities and health boards, and improve productivity – currently at zero. Savings of £200£300 million could be made each year and one result would be to free up the bureaucracy and over-management that is endemic in the public sector.

Of course, this will never happen – there are too many career politicians and senior civil servants with their own vested interests.

JAMES MACINTYRE

Clarendon Road, Linlithgow