Rates relief

The Non Domestic Rates (Scotland) Bill is due to be debated this week.

It targets independent schools and removes charitable relief on rates for this small part of the charitable Third Sector. To me as a parent who spends hard-earned, taxed income to educate my daughter privately, this seems unfair.

A Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS) report states that independent schools make a £301 million direct contribution to the Scottish economy and account for 10,600 jobs.

Given that Scotland’s education system is struggling and underperforming, is this a short-sighted miscalculation?

If these schools have to increase fees due to paying rates there will be a migration back to the state system which not only costs the government more but has a negative effect on the economy and jobs.

I would urge the Scottish Government to amend the bill to protect independent schools and maintain charitable rates relief.

GERARD BAXTER Ingram Place, Kilmarnock

Gill Turner avoids the main point of my letter and infers that many university students in Scotland were not worthy of a place so the places were filled by EU students or those paying the £32,000 course fees (Letters, 31 January).

It is ironic that on the same day as her letter was published The Scotsman reported that Nicola Sturgeon was forced – yes, forced – to agree her government would make a statement on the attainment of Scottish pupils after being challenged by Scottish Tory interim leader Jackson Carlaw.

He raised new analysis that showed that the attainment between the least and most deprived children had “barely moved” over the past four years and the pass rate in Higher subjects has dropped since 2015.

To repeat my comment, £11 billion was spent on free university education, but it was an SNP vote-catching exercise so they did not insist these students pledged to stay for five years. Hence our present skills shortage.

On second thoughts, perhaps this idea did not even occur to them.

CLARK CROSS Springfield Road, Linlithgow