December 2: A lack of consultation on devolution in Sheffield and South Yorkshire

AT the beginning of October, the civic leaders of South Yorkshire, on our behalf, signed a “devolution” deal with Chancellor George Osborne. As part of this, we were promised a consultation process before the deal came into being. A similar deal in the North East is going to be consulted on via a referendum in Durham.

I’ve written personally to Sir Steve Houghton asking about this process and was told explicitly that the consultation process would begin in November. The Sheffield City Region Combined Authority, the body on which this devolution deal is centred around, is a conglomeration of civic leaders and business people chaired by Barnsley council leader Sir Steve Houghton. Sir Steve is surely the favourite for the well paid and provisioned post of metro-mayor that will be created to oversee the £30m per year “devolved” by central government to magically transform our business, training, planning and transport infrastructures. In their own minutes in October, Sir Steve states that the consultation process will begin on November 16.

I’ve searched the combined authority and council websites as well as performing a number of Google searches and have yet to find any form of consultation process or a reason for its delay. If I were a suspicious person (which I am) I’d suspect this was a ploy to try and drive this deal through on the quiet with no real consultation.

This deal fragments the historic county of Yorkshire – creating lesser Yorkshire. This deal does nothing to tackle the educational problems we have in a region that has been bottom of the regional league tables for the last few years. It does nothing to alter that fact that for every £1,000 spent by the Government on the capital, just £133 is spent in Yorkshire.

Doctors took a stand

From: Dr Glyn Powell, Kellington, Goole.

I CONGRATULATE the junior doctors for their overwhelming decision to stand up to this ridiculous Tory government’s heavy-handed attempts to make them work longer hours for less pay.

Such a stupid proposal would only serve to both endanger the lives of patients through tiredness and also pave the way for full privatisation of the NHS.

For, despite the Tories saying that the NHS is safe in their hands, who, in their right mind, would ever trust the Government or Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (Tom Richmond, The Yorkshire Post, November 28)?

What was being proposed, until the intervention of Acas, ws entirely in keeping with the Government’s strategy of reducing the incomes of all workers and those on benefits in the vain belief this will stimulate economic recovery. It will not, only serving to hasten Britain’s economic decline.

Workers should, therefore, follow this example and get off their knees and fight the insane austerity measures. After all, we owe the young and future generations hope in a life free from grinding poverty and economic collapse.

From: Dr Bob Heys, Bar Lane, Ripponden, West Yorkshire.

IT was with considerable concern that I read the recent article “Pigeons could be employed to screen cancer” (The Yorkshire Post, November 19).

My fear is that economy- seeking hospital administrators will appoint such birds as cost-cutting alternatives to qualified human pathologists and radiologists.

I believe that many patients (and indeed their doctors) will rightly be reluctant to accept the advance even of well-trained pigeons.

Falling for another scam

From: Karl Sheridan, Selby Road, Holme on Spalding Moor.

THE Black Friday event, yet another money-making marketing scheme copied from America like Halloween, should be boycotted. I really can’t get my head around all those idiots that spend, spend, spend and max-out their credit cards thinking they are getting a bargain!

Anyone with a modicum of sense knows these so- called bargains are a scam. Companies even add on their TV advertisements in small print that the item has been on offer for a month or so at an exorbitant price. This means they can then legally reduce it back to its original price and then class it as a huge discounted sale price.

No doubt businesses and stores will be wanting to make it a Black Friday week. The whole thing is madness and the public fall for it. There should be no Christmas advertising until December 1.

Botham’s sporting life

From: Keith Handley, Scotland Way, Horsforth, Leeds.

GOOD article by Grant Woodward about Sir Ian Botham’s latest charity walk around South Africa and his recent 60th birthday celebrations (The Yorkhsire Post, November 26).

I was pleased to see that the latest walk is supporting, amongst other things, rhino conservation.

Just one thing however – how did he spend his 60th birthday? Shooting and killing wild animals on an estate near Ripon!