IT seems that the “growing challenge” (pun apparently not intended) of getting an allotment is set to be investigated by a Scottish Parliament committee (MSPs look at difficulties in getting allotments, May 10). The Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee is set to explore whether council provision of allotments is sufficient as well as looking at how supply and demand varies across the country.
As a late, well-known SNP councillor friend of mine used to say on a regular basis, “Wit’s this got to do with independence?” Maybe given the massive increases in food prices, we are soon to be told to “dig for victory” as our grandparents were?
In these times of increasing food bank use I suppose there will be a small minority of the population who see this as a major issue and a good use of the Scottish Parliament’s time, attention and effort. The rest of us will say maybe, just maybe, there are a great multitude other things more worthy of such detailed investigation.
READ MORE: Scottish ASN pupils face funding cuts and record-low teacher numbers
It would not be hard to find suitable subjects for the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee to explore. For an easy example, in the very same edition of The National on the very same page, it is reported that councils have allegedly cut funding for children with special needs by £874 per pupil over the past decade. The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition has called on incoming council leaders to put children with additional support needs (ASN) at the top of their agendas following the local elections. It appears that average spend per pupil has fallen from £4,276 in the 2012/13 financial year to £3,402 in 2020/21 in cash terms. This is a 20.4% cut over the period. The Scottish Government disputes these figures. They cannot both be right, so why not investigate this subject?
Politics is about priorities, and ASN children should perhaps come before allotments. Bairns before Brussels sprouts.
Brian Lawson
Paisley
FORGET allotments. Why do none of the Holyrood parties proclaim folk’s natural right to their “wee bit hill and glen”? As Churchill put it in his radical Liberal days, “land monopoly is the mother of monopolies”.
George Morton
via thenational.scot
AGREE with every word of Kevin McKenna’s column – the calibre of sports journalism in Scotland is abysmal (Sports journalism is going to change – and women will play massive part, May 11). The first newspaper which goes off script and really reports honestly would see their circulation rise.
Considering the free publicity teams get in the media, it is amazing how cowed they seem to be. The BBC are a good example of a craven media organisation; banned from Ibrox for telling the truth, their sports department still bend over backwards not to criticise anything from down Ibrox way.
Michael McCartney
via thenational.scot
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