Readers' letters: Green Port status needs proper scrutiny

Recent media reports have indicated that five areas of Scotland are bidding for so-called Green Port status.

The locations of these bids are Aberdeen/Peterhead, Cromarty Firth, Orkney, Forth Estuary and the Clyde area.

All these bids are being made by consortiums of private companies and local authorities.

Supporters of so-called Green Ports say that they are good news for businesses and communities because they are essentially a special kind of port where normal tax and customs rules do not apply.

However, there is evidence that so-called Green Ports don’t create new economic activity but rather relocate existing work from other areas with the promise of tax breaks.

There is not much hope that the Westminster Government will consider the danger of a Green Port development taking jobs away from areas not within its boundaries. It is also probably unlikely that the Westminster Government will have much concern about the rights of workers employed within so-called Green Ports.

It is, therefore, vital that the Scottish Government scrutinise thoroughly all the bids that are made in relation to Green Ports status.

Arthur West, Irvine.

Dentists owe us a debt of service

Nine in ten NHS dental practices in the UK have closed their books to new adult patients.

There has been an exodus to private practice where large fees are charged and salaries are better.

In Scotland this shortage of dentists could have been avoided with a bit of Scottish Government foresight. For many years students who have lived in Scotland for three years are entitled to have their university fees paid by the Scottish taxpayer. Students from England pay £9250 per year.

Dentistry is a five-year course. Students getting this free education should have to work in Scotland for five years to repay taxpayers' generosity

There would then not be the present shortage of doctors, nurses and NHS dentists who are scarcer than hen's teeth.

Clark Cross, Linlithgow.

Bobby behind bars

People who rub the nose of the Greyfriars Bobby statue obviously don't give a thought to the damage they are causing or just don't care, but I witnessed even worse last week.

A boy had climbed on top of the statue and was repeatedly rubbing the dog's nose, while a woman, presumably his mother, looked on, camera in hand, ready to take a photograph.

The time is long overdue for the council to give the statue a good clean and then put some railings in place again; they never should have been removed.

They were low enough so that those who wanted to take photographs had an unobstructed view, but high enough and with enough space in between the statue and the railings so that people couldn't actually touch the statue.

Sandra Busell, Edinburgh.

Sturgeon aid

So, Nicola Sturgeon writes to Boris Johnson asking him to act over the cost of living crisis, yet a partial solution is already within her control.

If the SNP administration ceased to spend taxpayer cash on matters retained by Westminster, like the constitution and foreign affairs, Sturgeon would have additional tens of millions to spend, enabling her to take further actions herself to ease the crisis.

But maybe Sturgeon prefers complaining to Westminster. Perhaps she believes spending our cash to 'refresh' her Scexit case is more important than helping Scots pay their bills.

Martin Redfern, Melrose.

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