THERE has been a great deal about the exemption “rape” clause to the "Two children maximum" in qualifying for the reserved child tax credit which became law on April 6 (Letters, April 15). I note that Alison Thewliss, MP for Glasgow Central, tried unsuccessfully to persuade the Government chair in Westminster Hall in October, 2016 to have the contentious”rape” clause regarding “exceptional circumstances” removed in what she described as a “pernicious and medieval” policy proposal.

In conclusion and in reply to the MP for Glasgow Central, the Department for Work and Pensions stated that "it is determined to address this issue with fairness and sensitivity, to make sure that women have the opportunity to report in a safe environment to trusted professionals. It is critically important that we extend that opportunity to them and that we do not remove the exemption, because I think that would be a very dangerous and unfair thing to do."

It would appear therefore that had this clause been struck out, then the Welfare Reform and Work Act of 2016 would have been "two children maximum" and that is that. That would truly have been an authoritarian and medieval piece of legislation: no one to turn to.

No matter how sensitive one wishes to be about a delicate subject, the minute it hits the statute book and requires black ink on vellum, any amount of soft English will fail to hide the reality of the written word. That is an unfortunate side effect with legislation.

I am of the opinion that the “exceptional circumstances” exemption is one part of the Welfare Reform and Work Act of 2016 that is as sensitive and compassionate as it is humanly possible to be.

Archie Burleigh,

Meigle Cottage, Skelmorlie.

THE cause of Scotland's low indigenous birth rate is more complex than James Mills's argument (Letters, April 15) that benefits are too low. Young families can't afford to have children when housing costs consume up twice as much of net income as they did 50 years ago, and childcare can eat up the whole of a second wage. My own children are delaying marriage and family by at least three years for this reason. An added issue is their reluctance to send children to Aberdeen's declining inner city schools and the unsafe neighbourhood their flats are in.

Mr Mills is right that immigrants are required, although with roughly 130,000 unemployed people in the country and 70,000 vacancies this can't be due to a lack of local candidates. Employers complain about a lack of skills, education and motivation, including the problems dealing with the expectations and attitudes of "millenials".

Governments can't solve everything, but the SNP has had 10 years to get our education system into shape and create a housing policy that provides cheap, good accommodation for families. Parents and their offspring are responsible for much of the rest. The ill-conceived Names Person Scheme could have helped with this.

Allan Sutherland,

1 Willow Row, Stonehaven.