Regarding Johann Lamont's childcare plans.

Instead of capping benefits, why not take steps to help ensure that parents who wish to be stay-at-home parents get the opportunity to do so?

It seems to me that parents who want to stay at home and raise their child are being victimised and labelled as a benefits scroungers.

Paid for childcare isn't always the best solution to raising children, and not all women - or men, for that matter - want strangers to care for their kids.

Paul Cochrane Posted online

Respect result

If Jack Crozier (Letters, October 8) is a serious democrat, then he should accept Scotland has made its decision and wants to remain part of the UK in devolved structure.

That will require all parties putting differences behind them for the nation's benefit.

Councillor Alistair Watson City Chambers

Gong show

I'd like to register my astonishment that Glasgow City Council has been given an award for "Excellence in Cycling and Walking".

What was it about conditions for the city's downtrodden pedestrians and cyclists that so impressed the judges?

There is no cycle network to speak of, and the pavements are an obstacle course of broken slabs and illegally parked cars.

The reality is that provision for walking and cycling in Glasgow is atrocious, and a mere adjunct to the far greater priorities of car parking and car movement.

The last thing the people responsible for these conditions should get is an award.

Calum Cook Glasgow

Double Dutch

THERE'S something far wrong with the franchise tendering system when ScotRail's services are now to be run by a Dutch operator, part owned by their own government. Their business partner is Serco, a firm fined millions of pounds for billing the British Government - you and me - for tagging criminals who didn't exists or were already dead.

All aboard the gravy train.

Rail User Glasgow