Our children's health is worth a lot more than the minor inconvenience of turning your car engine off at the school gates. Yet car idling – in other words, keeping your engine running while stationary – remains common practice for many motorists outside schools, hospitals and shops.

Never mind that it’s supposed to be illegal. These are toxic exhaust fumes filling the air with pollutants – and kids’ lungs are especially vulnerable. It should be a no-brainer, even if you’re only stopping for a minute to pick up your kids on the run back from school, that you should turn your engine off.

Unfortunately, although car engine idling is banned, the fines against it are paltry and the rules are rarely enforced. We’ve previously reported how the current £20 penalty is so low that it may well cost councils more to administer than they’d ever get back. So from their point of view, why bother?

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The Scottish Government is proud of its record on improving air quality but its failure to take proper action on this issue stands out like a sore thumb. Fines must increase and enforcement must get tougher – along with improved public awareness of the risks – to change the culture around idling. Putting the health of our kids at risk is no trivial matter.

And extensive scientific evidence backs up the link between vehicle emissions and diseases such as lung cancer and asthma. The Scottish Government must act to strengthen guidance around ­enforcement but we can all play our part. Make sure you’re doing the right thing when you next pick up your kids or grandkids – switch your engine off.

Get cops on beat

Frontline cops have warned that some areas of Scotland have become “policing deserts”. That should be a wake-up call to anyone who values safety and security in our housing estates.

Visible policing reduces crime and also means the public feels better protected. No part of the country should be out of reach for the forces of law and order.

And for some areas to have no clear presence is a real problem. Building relationships with ­communities has got to be a key part of modern policing.

And the way to do this is police officers regularly operating in those areas where crime is a persistent problem. But Police Scotland is short of cash and there needs to be a rethink on how we use the resources we have.

Officers are spending too much time waiting about in courts and filling out paperwork. Instead they should be on the beat and catching criminals.