10/09/04

In a leaflet circulated by the Government, it suggests reorganisation in Durham will save between £2.8 to £8.3m per year, although there will be an up front cost of £37m. To me, this sound like job losses - the last thing Unison should be supporting.

On the other hand, the fire service is to be taken away from local authorities and the four existing fire services are to be run by the regional assembly. There will no doubt be a highly paid group of regional fire officers with a new regional headquarters. How this will benefit the people of, say, Berwick in the north or Barnard Castle in the south?

John Prescott seems to be up here almost every week propagating the case for a regional assembly - if it is such a good idea why does he not foist it on the region he belongs to? - Quintin Smith, South Shields.

HAVING read the leaflet from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, it seems the Government does not know what the regional assembly will be doing or what they will control.

It states that the assembly will have "responsibilities, power or influence" over nine set areas. What are "the powers or influences" that it will have and how will it be able to impose its authority over others?

As for the re-shaping of local government, it would be obvious to go for one authority that does the lot rather than three authorities all doing the same as it would save the taxpayers millions in the long run.

A lot of figures are being bandied about as to the probable costs involved. We need to see precise figures.

To vote on this with the little information so far released and the amount that is being hidden, reminds me of the saying "buying a pig in a poke". - RL Groves, Howden-le-Wear, Crook.

THE Government-funded elaborate pamphlet puts only one point of view: emphatically in favour of a regional assembly.

Unless equal funding is made available for different views, how can a referendum vote be deemed fair and informed?

It is hardly likely that many of the readers of the leaflet will take up the invitation to send £25 for a copy of the draft Bill covering the powers and functions of the regional assembly.

Only the House of Commons has the power to legislate, although it has given up some law-making powers to the EU and Scotland. It is most unlikely that such concessions will be made to regional assemblies.

An assembly will be constrained by the same obligations to stay within laws which apply to every unitary county, district or town council. In essence, it will be an administration with only limited decision taking powers.

And the price? A hardly representative assembly of 15-25 people displacing hundreds of local councillors in close touch with many and varied local communities. - EG Hill, Darlington.

RELIGION

IN Peter Mullen's tirade against biased journalism (his nomination for Hypocrite of the Year, Echo, Sept 7), he criticizes the BBC's news reporters for their lack of neutrality. He then goes on to list agnosticism as an example of this alleged bias.

Surely, where religion is concerned, one can't get much more neutral than agnosticism: neither a belief nor a disbelief in God. This being the case, I would be interested to hear what Mr Mullen does class as religious impartiality. I can only assume that, in his eyes, a neutral, unbiased journalist would share the same Christian agenda as himself. - Graeme Watson, Darlington

IF Muslim governments are as inoffensive and long-suffering as Pete Winstanley portrays them (HAS, Sept 1), how come they have such an unspeakably appalling record on human rights in east and central Africa?

The atrocities currently being perpetrated in the Darfur region by Arab militias acting under the auspices of the strictly Muslim Sudanese government are nothing new.

For generations, that half of black Africa has been terrorised by Muslim Arab free-booters and slave-traders.

The slave trade in east Africa was every bit as bad as that carried on by Europeans in the West and it went on longer; indeed, slavery is still very much a feature of many strictly Muslim countries.

Islam is a fundamentally suspect religion with which we have nothing in common and against every manifestation of which we need to be resolutely on our guard. As for the unreal nonsense of Pete Winstanley, it should be ignored. - T Kelly, Crook.

FLOODS

I WOULD like to place on record my wholehearted thanks to all of the teams from Durham County Council together with personnel from the district council and Environment Agency who worked around the clock during the flood emergency in the early hours of August 20.

I'm sure many people, particularly in the south of the county, who anxiously watched as river levels rose, will want to join me in saying how much we appreciated their efforts and expertise.

Many, but not all, of the problems were in the Wear Valley area. It's pleasing that flood protection measures installed in the South Church area avoided a repeat of recent flood problems there.

Nevertheless, our emergency action teams, highways inspectors and service direct teams, contractors and supervisory staff pulled out all the stops, providing sand bags, flood warning signs and getting flooded roads open again, as well as dealing with the likes of fallen trees and landslides.

It is at times such as these that you realise and appreciate just how much hard work and effort goes into ensuring that we can combat the worst that Mother Nature sometimes throws at us. - Councillor Sonny Douthwaite, Chairman of Highways Committee, Durham County Council.

DARLINGTON FC

COULD the reason for the poor attendance to watch Darlington football team at the new stadium be the increase in entry and drinks etc this season? - N. Tate, Darlington.

AGEISM

WHY is it that companies don't like to start employing anyone over 50? Ageism is still rife due to outdated thinking. The over-fifties have so much to offer. We have a healthy lifestyle, are fit and up to date with modern technology. Yet through ignorance we get passed over.

There are firms like B&Q and some supermarkets who welcome the older generation, but on the whole industry looks upon taking the over-fifties as a threat.

Give us a chance. All we want to do is earn a living. - John Brant, Darlington.