Hit record

Martin Redfern seems obsessed with Nicola Sturgeon (Letters, 17 April), and the “manufactured grievances” with Westminster were validated this week by the head of the civil service in Scotland, John-paul Marks, who told MPS on Tuesday that UK ministers had flouted the Sewel Convention, which dictates that Westminster does not legislate in devolved matters without the consent of the Scottish Government, “on a number of occasions” in recent years. He also said that the controversial Internal Market Act, the devolution-busting legislation which helped scupper the deposit return scheme, had changed the nature of devolution.

Under Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership, Scotland’s public services are in a better state than elsewhere in the UK. In transport, she delivered the under budget new Queensferry Crossing and increased rail services, with the nationalised Scotrail the best performing in the UK, while modernising stations and increasing free bus travel.

Nicola Sturgeon did more for women, children and the poorest in society than any of her predecessors, thus making Scotland a much fairer place in which to live. In addition to the baby box, she established a new social security system, including the Scottish Child Payment, which is the most ambitious anti-poverty measure anywhere in the UK. Free childcare was expanded and the Carer’s Allowance Supplement, gives 84,000 carers in Scotland the most generous support in the UK, was brought in.

Under the SNP many more affordable homes were built than under the previous Scottish Executive, plus there was a record number of new schools.

Scotland has the best-performing NHS in the UK, with more doctors, dentists, nurses and hospital beds per head. The educational attainment gap has narrowed to 16 per cent compared to the pre-covid level of 16.9 per cent in 2019 and last year 95.7 per cent of all school levers went on to positive destinations.

Mary Thomas

Edinburgh