RICHARD Allison (Letters, May 11) claims that unionist parties should have concentrated their attacks during the election on a clear litany of failures, amongst them a once world-renowned education system in disarray . This assertion about the shortcomings of Scottish education has been regularly trotted out during the course of the campaign. Where is his evidence for this claim apart from the recent Pisa figures, which are very limited in what they have to say about performance in our Scottish schools? (It is worth pointing out that such international comparisons only started in 2020. In addition, it is only comparatively recently that national exam results and school leaver destinations have been published. Claims of a previous world-beating reputation for Scottish education are simply anecdotal with no hard evidence to back them up.)
Why do people not have on off button when drinking in public? Why do people lose control when drinking in public? Why do people often become belligerent and aggressive when drinking in public? Allied to trying to answer those questions, consider the reluctance of the Lord Advocate some years ago to proceed with cases where the sole charge was the common law crime of breach of the peace. Along with this, consider the diminution over time of the power of the police to arrest without warrant a person who has been accused of having committed a crime shortly before, and detain them in custody until appearance at court.
April marks the
premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) awareness month, which aims to educate people and build advocacy of this little-known condition. PMDD is a suspected genetic disorder that affects mental and menstrual health. Symptoms include depression, anxiety, irritability, mood swings, and many others which occur in the 1-2 weeks before the menstrual period each month. Unlike in
premenstrual syndrome (PMS), which affects most individuals with periods, symptoms are often severe and debilitating, affecting school and work, relationships, and quality of life. One of the most common symptoms of PMDD is suicidal ideation, with 30 per cent of sufferers reporting they’ve attempted to end their life in PMDD crisis.
AS Portfolio Holder for Islands on North Ayrshire Council, I must comment on your report on the fiasco over the building of the two ferries at Ferguson s of Port Glasgow ( Ministers ‘in denial’ by rejecting failure of delayed ferries project , The Herald, January 27). The story of the mess of the ferry contract is well known. But it is worth pointing out that the problem did not begin with rusting hulks 801 and 802. The root of the problem lies with the SNP s promise to introduce RET to the islands. RET is an approach which requires not just subsidy, but well-planned and targeted land-based infrastructure improvements in line with a refresh of the ferry fleet. In 2008 the SNP brought in a ferry subsidy (which it called “RET” but it is not) thereby increasing demand. It had no concerted plans to improve the land-side infrastructure to cope with the increased traffic. Nor, crucially, did it plan a systematic replacement of an ageing fleet which was and still is too old and