15/01/05

County Durham doesn't have the highest unemployment rate in the United Kingdom. If anything, under the Labour Government, unemployment nationally and locally has come down.

Let's not forget that 20 years ago, County Durham had an unemployment rate of 20 per cent. Today, it is closer to two per cent and much closer to the national average.

Why? Major investment in local economic regeneration, supported, facilitated and led by the county council, has ensured that County Durham has been well placed to benefit from the sustained period of national economic growth.

Mr Beech tries to draw an invidious comparison between the economic performance of County Durham with places such as Berks, Bucks or Oxford. Certainly, we aspire to match the economic performance of more prosperous parts of the country, which is why the county council has led projects such as Bracken Hill Business Park, near Peterlee, and NetPark, near Sedgefield, to help the county to attract and create jobs in new sectors and knowledge-based industries. - Coun Brian Walker, Cabinet Member for Business Support, Durham County Council.

EVOLUTION

T KELLY (HAS, Jan 8) sets his face against the world of science in his rejection of the explanation of evolution.

Does he really think that, from the fossil evidence, God is constantly tinkering with the form of living creatures, a touch here, a tweak there - "I'll make the giraffes' necks just a bit longer now, it will help them to graze on higher branches"?

Mr Kelly might like to consider how, in only about 10,000 years, man has produced the current range of dog breeds, so different in shape and size, from one original type, by taking advantage of these mutations.

European house sparrows were introduced into New York only 150 years ago. They have now spread throughout the United States and those in Arizona are recognisably different to those in the north of the country.

Within a few years of a new antibiotic being introduced, there is usually news that drug resistance has appeared. This is evolution at work within a short time span. - Eric Gendle, Nunthorpe.

FINANCES

ACCORDING to Fiona Hall (HAS, Jan 4), we must not make the same mistakes regarding the European Constitution as with regional government.

So she's happy that the EU will spend £6.25m on an information campaign. I'll remind Ms Hall of the fact that the regional government vote cost the taxpayer around £13m.

Sample the idiotic spending: the University of Salford evaluation of the "operation and effectiveness of elected regional assemblies", £979,274; review of studies promoting regional growth, £255,320; evaluation of the Role and Impact of Regional Chambers, £216,129; identifying the flow of expenditure into regions, £176,520; British Social Attitudes Survey Module on Regional Governance, £16,800; Can Competitive Regions Promote Sustainability research, £17,300; Reflecting Diversity in Governing the Regions, £16,200; research on cost of government reorganisation, £127,590.

As with the regional vote, it would be far easier, and more useful, for politicians to stand on any street corner with a clipboard.

Of course, for Fiona and her ilk, those who voted No are wrong and she's happy to spend our millions in any attempt to force her view upon the British people. - Jim Tague, Bishop Auckland Conservatives.

RACISM

IT is interesting to learn that the British Army deliberately restricted the number of ethnic minority recruits (Echo, Jan 4). Is it too much to hope that such institutional racism will now become a thing of the past, or will officials just be more careful about what they put in writing?

Another recent revelation from the National Archives was the story of Antonio Staffieri of Chester-le-Street, put on a wartime "Suspect List" because "he is of a boastful disposition, resembles Mussolini, and is not popular with the public" (Echo, Oct 13 and 14).

Is there more substantial evidence against the "terrorist suspects" now imprisoned indefinitely without trial in Belmarsh prison, or will we have to wait another 60 years to find out? - Pete Winstanley, Durham.

STORMS

LIKE thousands of others, I have been affected by the gales that swept our region last weekend.

I was without my creature comforts for two-and-a-half days - no lighting, central heating hot water, washing machine, hairdryer, etc.

I was frequently cold and worried about my roof, livestock etc. However, despite my "discomfort" I couldn't be angry, or feel deprived.

I kept in my heart all those people in Indonesia who have lost so much and silenced my grumbles because of all those additional thousands around the world who will never see loved ones again - taken by truly terrible events.

For those who feel frustrated or upset at our situation, please think hard about what life really means and bless what you have remaining. Many start 2005 with nothing left at all. - Vanessa Moore, Toft Hill.

THERE'S not a lot we can do about acts of God, but we can certainly prepare for them better. There was a worrying lack of information available to residents last weekend after storms caused power cuts across the region.

The engineers were obviously doing an heroic job trying to get the power on again, but head office failed to give adequate public information about the duration of the blackout. Hundreds of homes were without heat or light for two days - yet no-one was ever told how long the power cut would continue.

This greatly added to the distress and anxiety caused by the storms, as people could not plan ahead or make arrangements for themselves, their children or elderly relatives. - Danny Kruger, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Sedgefield.

ID CARDS

KEVIN Popper's letter (HAS, Jan 11) calls into question the Liberal Democrat's commitment to opposing the introduction of ID cards in the UK.

We are fundamentally opposed to this Government initiative because we do not think it will achieve any of the benefits Labour insists they will.

The Government has a poor record on introducing new IT schemes on budget and on time, and they have admitted that this scheme will have phenomenal start up costs.

The Lib Dems do not oppose ID cards because we think it will win us votes, but because they will intrude on privacy and fundamentally change the relationship between individual and the state. - Coun Carol Woods, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Liberal Democrats, Durham City.