HELEN McArdle’s Inside Track article (“Taxing issue of funding the NHS”, The Herald, February 9) asked a lot of questions that quite honestly, no one has the answer too.Funding our NHS is a massive issue and an issue close to most hearts, as we all want the serve to be there in our hour of need. This article suggested “extra contributions could come from requiring contributions from employees over 60”, a suggestion that one can stop National Insurance contributions prior to receiving one’s state pension, clearly not the case.
One omission from the article was Labour’s legacy of PFI/ PPP (Private Finance Initiative/Public Private Partnership) projects costing Scotland’s public services, including our NHS, more than £100m annually. My own local hospital in Larbert had a capital cost of £293 million - PFI cost £1.7 billion. Those charges are crippling our NHS and are a heavy burden on our public finances annually.
Funding our NHS will always be an issue as we demand more from it. Progressive taxation goes a long way to addressing the massive funding gap and a specific add-on – for example 2p extra on tax ring-fenced for our precious NHS - may be a consideration.
Catriona C Clark,
52 Hawthorn Drive.
Banknock, Falkirk.
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