Readers' letters: Covid passport is the safest way forward

Alex Cole-Hamilton (News, 17 November) is fixated with opposition for opposition’s sake and guilty of undermining Covid health messaging.

All health experts agree that vaccine passports, which are common throughout Europe, plus the wearing of masks are essential to keep on top of the pandemic. A friend visited a small café in France run by the sole proprietor who checked the QR code when she took his order with no need for door staff.

A requirement for a PCR test will result in more lost trade for the hospitality sector if customers need to show a result within the last few days. Also the hospitality Christmas trade will be lost if Covid cases increase dramatically and a lockdown is required.

Thanks to our much better performing NHS, the Scottish government’s Covid strategy is working well as Scotland is currently the most vaccinated part of the UK with the lowest weekly rate of deaths per head of population.

Mary Thomas, Edinburgh.

Pavements tough for wheelchair users

My husband had an appointment at the Smart Centre and thank goodness our daughter was available to push him in his wheelchair along Canaan Lane to the Astley Ainslie Hospital.

I walk with a stick, so holding on to the wheelchair is excellent, but I would never have managed to push him, as the pavements are on a camber and there are obstacles all the way along.

It was a major exercise getting him there and, even in the hospital grounds, there were still uneven pavements, potholes and general uncared-for roads.

It is a shocking state of affairs when even going to a hospital puts your life in more peril.

Sylvia Wilson, Edinburgh.

Some jobs are more rewarding than others

What would you say if you learned that Scottish independence would create 35,000 additional jobs? It sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? Why would you not vote for it?

Think of the reduction in those on benefits, the additional income tax and National Insurance being paid into government coffers. And the profits these companies are making would lead to corporation tax too.

What was that? No corporation tax? Oh, 35,000 civil service jobs? Ah well, that puts it in a whole different light. That is 35,000 additional jobs that have to be paid for by the taxpayers, meaning higher taxes for those working in the private sector.

The Nationalists really do believe we are buttoned up the back. The streets of an independent Scotland would not be paved with gold, they’d be full of even more potholes as the public purse would be stretched even thinner.

Jane Lax, Aberlour.

Focus spending on skills qualifications

Recent government figures showed that job vacancies have hit a record high of 1.2 million, an increase of 20 per cent in the past three months. It’s seems like a no-brainer that our young people should be able to train to fill these roles.Many of the sectors continuing to battle with skills shortages, such as construction, manufacturing and hospitality, are reliant on Level 2 vocational qualifications as a direct route into jobs in these industries.Yet, the government has failed to prioritise these lower level, work-ready qualifications, instead focusing their post-16 policy and funding at higher qualifications.

Campbell Robb, Chief Executive, Nacro, London.