23/08/04

An elected assembly would have powers and influence over economic development, skills and training, strategic planning, culture, public health, the environment, rural issues and tourism.

The assembly would be elected entirely by the people of this region and would therefore be answerable to us.

Part of the problem we all face in this region is that so many of the decisions which affect what happens here are made by London-based civil servants and members of unelected quangos.

Our own elected assembly would not only make a positive difference to the way the region is run as it would reflect the opinions of the North-East population but it would also give us a voice to argue our case at national and international level. - P Rivers, Wallsend.

ROYAL FAMILY

THE Royal Family and their apologists are always telling us that monarchy provides a tremendous boost to tourism.

Why, then, does the French Republic now attract three times as many foreign tourists as Britain?

I suggest they take a look at the surveys, which show that most overseas visitors would visit Britain no matter who was our head of state. - Aled Jones, Bridlington.

TAXI SERVICES

I WAS struck by your report on the rapidly declining relations between Darlington Council and local taxis.

Local cabbies have legitimate grievances about the petty rules and paranoid health and safety regulations that the council imposes on them.

Indeed, their position has been upheld by the courts in the recent case of the wrong type of tinted window. Which, itself, follows the case of the "wrong" colour red.

The result is fewer cabs to serve local people and visitors and a more expensive service from those drivers who can overcome the bureaucratic hurdles put in their way.

Some readers may shrug this off as a storm in a styrofoam cup but this is, in fact, only part of a much wider problem.

Your readers will also recall your coverage, several weeks ago, of declining business confidence in Darlington and the North-East region.

A survey by the Mentor group found that 60 per cent of small businesses are either trying to reduce the number of people they employ or avoiding recruitment of staff because of the increased burden of regulatory compliance.

The North-East, of all regions, cannot afford this unnecessary brake on growth. Unnecessary, busy-bodying regulation, whether emanating from local councils, Whitehall or Brussels, is stifling our competitiveness and must be rolled back. It threatens our economic well-being as well as the liberties that we have traditionally enjoyed. - Anthony Frieze, PPC, Conservatives, Darlington.

ROAD SAFETY

WHILE I am all for the well being of the pensioners in this country, I think that the Government should introduce a free annual driving test for drivers from the age of 65 upwards.

A lot of pensioners who drive cars are terrible drivers, as they often forget to indicate or they drive at a very dangerous low speed on the public highway.

While I am totally against speeding, I think that elderly drivers are as just as much a nuisance on the road as a boy racer, due to their forgetfulness.

If the Government introduces such a driving test for pensioners and they fail it, then they lose their licence. If they do lose their licence, then they will be able to claim a free bus pass which will get them to their destinations safely. - Christopher Wardell, Darlington.

GHOST SHIPS

I AM more than 50 years old and have seen a lot of changes in Hartlepool. Especially in the last 15 years, when it notably changed from a music hall joke to a vibrant town with a refurbished dockland that attracts new people and businesses.

The so-called Ghost Ships are not a danger. Let's get real.

Port Clarence has dealt with all manner of "hazards" over the years, and Able is well qualified to "deal" with the American ships.

So, what's the problem? Can't Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace see that some areas not only have the expertise but also the knowledgable workforce ready to do the job.

There are a lot of unemployed people in the town who would be happy at the prospect of new work and would join a queue for the opportunity of a few years' work.

I think it's about time we got a perspective. - Robert Kilraine, Hartlepool.

LOTTERY PRISONER

IF penal reform works, after ten years in jail Iorworth Hoare ought to be a reformed character.

Is it not possible that, left alone, he might compensate the victims of his own violation and could, in true "Amazing Grace" tradition, see his win as a godsend so close to his release and the start of a new life?

For a "Christian" country I have seen very few Christian comments.

He's served his time, paid his money and took his chance.

Good luck to him and may he do what is right from now on. - G Wild Richmond.

CUSTOMS & EXCISE

IT is good to see that the "Offshore Off-Licence" is cocking a snook at overbearing authority.

The whole thing is unnecessary. Gordon Brown and his Treasury team seem incapable of rational thought.

All that is needed to stop the "off-licence" and to stop almost all smuggling of alcohol and tobacco into the UK is, quite simply, to reduce the duties imposed upon these products to levels that mean prices are just sufficiently above those in mainland Europe to make the journeys to procure them, the "booze cruises", uneconomic for the smugglers.

Huge sums of our money would be saved by reducing the numbers of excisemen currently wasting their time trying, and most often failing, to catch smugglers. History tells us they can never win.

A by-product of such a measure would be hugely increased tax revenues for Mr Brown to waste.

Will inveterate smokers stop smoking, no matter what they have to pay? No. If they buy in the UK, Mr Brown benefits, and so, we all hope, do we in better public services etc. If they buy in France, Jacques Chirac benefits. - Derek Thornton, Crook.