20/06/03

At least these would have been political attacks which Alan Milburn, as an elected politician, could properly respond to.

Instead he is condemned for not getting married and, in particular, for not going through a church ceremony.

I see this as a very vicious attack against more than just our Member of Parliament.

I was married at the Darlington Register Office which has a really good atmosphere. Why? I am not a hypocrite who pretends to be a Christian to get a better background for the photo-album.

I have many friends who choose not to go through a marriage ceremony for all sorts of reasons. It does not mean they are any less loving and faithful to their partners and poorer parents. - Stuart Hill, Darlington.

MANDI NORWOOD

I WAS fascinated to read the feature by Christen Pears on the former editor of Cosmopolitan, Mandi Norwood (Echo, June 17).

Mandi Norwood grew up in the North-East, had a meteoric rise in journalism and has now written a book.

And it's good to see a "local" girl doing well - she was trained at Darlington College of Technology's renowned journalism training school. - Sue Campbell, Director of External Relations, Darlington College of Technology.

REGIONAL ASSEMBLY

AS someone who tried to set up his own business, I used to think the idea of a regional assembly was a good one. However, today I'm not so sure.

Are we not in danger of accepting the same poisoned political chalice our forbears accepted when Northumbria ceased to be a kingdom? We will lose one tier of bureaucracy, so the politicians tell us, but without any form of tax raising powers.

Those of us on benefits will still have our money paid by the same two tier system, One NorthEast will still be looking to encourage new employers part funded by national and local authority, albeit one part may be the regional assembly.

Jobcentre-plus will not just disappear to be replaced by some North-East based agency dedicated to miraculously finding the jobs that will appear overnight. The Government Office for the North East will not go back to London.

No matter how you look at it, all we will in fact be doing is renaming one tier of bureaucracy by either replacing the district or county authorities with the regional assembly. - Graham Eason, Darlington.

FOR years I have favoured regional government, but my understanding was that it would mean devolution from central government, and for the expenditure to be covered from the national exchequer. I had imagined something like the Lander in Germany.

The proposal we now have is for the regional assemblies to be paid for by precept from local councils. After all, council tax is a regressive form of taxation. In effect existing county councils will be replaced by regional assemblies.

Already council tax payers in Billingham will have additional tax to pay in the form of a precept to a Billingham town council. This is due to a call for a town council by ten per cent of the electors. In Billingham we shall have three tiers of local government instead of the one we have now.

The regional assembly is not yet inevitable so the onus is now on those who want this regional tier to show how this different configuration will be of benefit. They have until October 2004 to do so.

I am not sure what we will get out of it as much as I am sure that it will cost us more. Is there some synergy in this proposed arrangement I have not noticed? - Geoffrey Bulmer, Billingham.

DURHAM TOLL

AS someone who has spent an entire lifetime working and competing with motor cars, I am a little taken aback (but not surprised) by the council's attitude to people who fall foul of the peninsular toll control bollard.

While the principle may be sound they are fundamentally difficult to operate and traverse with confidence, for the simple reason they are out of the driver's field of vision.

The system is more suited to private car parks where users can become familiar. Even though these barriers are often backed up with a lighting system the timing can be very uncertain.

A giant traffic light system would help solve the problem, or perhaps a mirror arrangement. To suggest that people are trying to avoid paying and finish up getting tangled only confirms the council's lack of practical understanding of this matter, as in many other motoring and car matters.

I shouldn't complain as we have had hundreds of pounds of work from these incidents but it does all seem unfair and unnecessary. - Fred Henderson, Breakdown Doctor, Durham City.

COMMUNITY HEALTH COUNCIL

I WOULD like to correct the impression in Barry Nelson's article (Echo, June 13) that the Darlington and Teesdale Community Health Council might be 'out on the street', as a result of the deferment of the date of abolition.

If the CHC has to leave its premises in Maude Street before December, I can assure your readers that appropriate accommodation will be provided for the CHC. - Graham Girvan CHC Manager.