I READ a very concern ing report reflecting an increase in the number of assaults on teachers.

Fourteen of the 32 councils in Scotland recorded a rise in assaults on teachers in Scottish classrooms in the last three years.

Of the other councils, a number were unable to provide statistics which would allow for comparison.

In total, some 1879 incidents were reported last year.

The failure of a number of councils to provide data is symptomatic of the apathy that exists among some of those who oversee our education system in Scotland.

More than a decade ago I recall the same levels of apathy in relation to attacks on firefighters.

We succeeded then in bringing these matters to the forefront of Scottish public opinion and new legislation was introduced.

It is time that teachers in our classrooms were afforded the same levels of attention and protection.

Earlier this year we saw the tragic death of teacher Anne McGuire in Leeds.

Punching, kicking, pushing, spitting and verbally abusing teachers is unacceptable.

Education chiefs need to take a zero tolerance approach to these issues and apply exclusions when appropriate.

In the case of violence, either actual or threatened, then the police need to be involved.

Teachers cannot be expected to continue teaching pupils who have previously assaulted them.

We need a common system for both recording and reporting assaults on teachers.

The purpose of an education authority is to make sure that our children are properly educated and that teachers remain free to teach.

As the provision of one is directly dependent upon the ability of the other let's get on with delivering both.

OUR National Health Service is increasingly blighted by the effects of industrial action.

The latest group discontented with their pay arrangements are radiographers.

This most recent row centres on those members of staff who receive progression- in-the- job pay rises.

These staff are being refused the general 1%, across the board NHS pay rise.

Payment received for continuous professional development for acquiring new skills and qualifications shouldn't be held against staff when it comes to the application of general pay rises.

They are not the same thing.

Government strategy in relation to the long-term costs, affordability and sustainability of our NHS is all over the place.

We need to have a much more mature discussion about the development of a more effective model of public and private health delivery similar to our European neighbours.

If not, in relation to future government health strategy, it won't take the specific skills of a radiographer "to see right through it."

I SEE that Lenzie girl Melissa Reid has hit the headlines again. Last year Melissa was convicted, with a friend, of attempting to smuggle £1.5 million of cocaine from Peru.

She was sentenced to just under seven years in a Peruvian prison.

As discussions continue about her serving the rest of her sentence in a Scottish prison, she has been recruited by the Foreign Office to headline a new campaign highlighting the dangers of smuggling drugs.

I hope her story will act as a deterrent to all those seduced by the Ibiza party lifestyle.

THIS week saw the introduction of a 5p levy for plastic bags. Apparently, we Scots use over 800 million such bags every year.

The supermarkets and retailers have all agreed that they will donate the proceeds they receive from the bags to local charities and environmental causes.

The plastic bag levy has already been applied in Wales and Northern Ireland with success.

As autumn arrives, how many of us will witness plastic bags hanging from bare trees, lying on our beaches ,or clogging up our riverbanks?

Plastic bags break down very slowly and cause a great deal of damage to the environment.

The introduction of a 5p charge on such bags should be welcomed across the country.

In essence we are being asked to trade convenience for better protection of our outstanding environment. In my opinion there really is no choice.

The unnecessary environmental damage caused by the use of 800 million plastic carriers a year is too much baggage for any society to carry.