DENTAL GAP

MY family received letters on Saturday from our dentist, stating that, because of the new contracts with the Government, he is pulling out of the NHS and going private.

We have the option of going private and paying £43.90 a month for a Denplan service which, no doubt, someone will be making a killing on at our expense, or trawling around Darlington to find another NHS dentist. Are there any left?

I do not blame our dentist, but I do blame the Government for not funding the dentistry service properly. We pay for the service through our National Insurance contributions and taxes. We also pay for our treatment. Why should we have to pay a third charge for the same service?

I have written to Darlington MP Alan Milburn, making these and other points, and asked him to approach the Health Secretary to see if the dentistry service can be funded properly without these extra charges.

I thought that, by making National Insurance contributions, we were paying for a service which all UK citizens, including my family, can access when they needed it, without any cost to them. I was wrong. I would be interested to hear what other people think about this.- Alan Macnab, Darlington.

TAXI FIRMS

I SEE from your headline, "Taxi firm loses out after cab licences granted out of town" (Echo, Aug 30) that Darlington Borough Council is continuing its vendetta against taxi companies.

I have no direct contact or association with any Darlington taxi companies, other than as an occasional user, but from articles I see in The Northern Echo on a regular basis, I am clearly left with the impression that these companies and owner-drivers are substantially constrained by local legislation in place, which considerably burdens their attempt to make an honest living.

No doubt they will make their feelings known in the run-up to the elected mayor referendum. - Harvey Smith, Darlington.

PARKS PRAISE

MY wife and I had the pleasure of looking after our grandson over the weekend, so I took the opportunity to have a good look around Darlington's South Park, and I must confess we were both impressed. Apart from the odd empty lager can, it was okay.

Also, we took him to North Park, close to where we live, and a refurbishment has been to good effect. I hope it can be maintained properly and the yobs stay away to leave the parks to be enjoyed by young and old.- John Brant, Darlington.