Thursday's Letters: Life should mean life for the Yorkshire Ripper

The sentences did not offer any possibility of parole as a life prison sentence was understood to mean just that – the prisoner would remain in prison for the rest of his life. Sutcliffe received 20 life sentences, so how could he possibly escape this reality?

When capital punishment was abolished, society was told it would be replaced by a life prison sentence, and there was no doubt the public understood that life meant life.

It is our warped justice system that took it upon itself to alter the English language and give an entirely different meaning to the

word "life". This was done without any consultation or indeed approval of the British people. If the public had not been betrayed there would not have been any possibility of such ludicrous appeals by Sutcliffe; no appalling abuse of taxpayers' monies and no horrendous legal aid bills.

This being the case, I do not believe Peter Sutcliffe is entitled to any hearing into a possible release date, contrary to the opinions of Brian A Jones (Yorkshire Post, August 5), who says Sutcliffe, whether we like it or not, has legal rights. I also do not believe that in some way, however small, such rights were fought for in the last war.

The last war was fought to rid us of the evil murderer, Hitler, and to make the world a better place for future generations. The efforts of our forces spawned human rights when the latter had true meaning before being disgracefully corrupted into the mess it is today.

A civilised society, in my understanding, is one which cares for and protects its decent people and when Britain is using millions of pounds to fund the grotesque appeals of murderers it places unknown further heartache and immense suffering on the families and loved ones of their victims who, surely, have had to endure more pain than any decent human being should have to experience.

In not granting any such court appeals, we are not taking a step down to the lower levels of society but are showing much needed strength and courage to do what most know is right.

From: Barrie Frost, Watson's Lane, Reighton, Filey.

Flexibility key to helping children learn

From: JW Slack, Swinston Hill Road, Dinnington, Sheffield.

I WAS concerned to read Children's Minister Sarah Teather admit that

after all the years of initiatives the system dealing with children with special educational needs (SEN) should be more family friendly (Yorkshire Post, July 31).

This can only be achieved with all levels of ability if the "system" allows professionals the flexibility of approach and access to a range of appropriate knowledge and skills to find a suitable system for each child.

This automatically requires teachers to work with the family,

psychologists, social welfare representatives and the health service according to need alongside the major factor – the willingness of parents to participate in the process at home.

This assumes parents have the ability to participate and, unfortunately, experience shows that many SEN children are locked in a situation where the parents are in need of guidance just as much as the children.

The shortage of SEN teachers has always existed because such patience and care is needed to gain what appears to be small successes and the difficulties children have in mastering simple tasks to us is so upsetting.

Basic to brain development is speech and communication and the ability to sound consonants and vowels correctly through natural speech because it is in this way that the understanding of words is most easily

learned.

The difficulty many children have in using the lips, tongue and teeth in co-ordination to make the appropriate sounds is incredible and make learning to read difficult since sounds have to be recognised internally in silent reading in order that meaning is understood from the text. It is the children who appear to be physically normal but whose brains appear to function inadequately who cause concern.

Needs associated with blindness, deafness and deformities often have wonderful qualified helpers and parents with initiatives to raise funds for treatment but clearly there is a great need to re-assess the involvement of parents in association with all child agencies where social and mental problems are severe. Having NVQs in childminding is not enough.

High-quality professionalism is required, plus politicians who

thoroughly understand that success will not come cheaply.

Regulating teachers

From: Andy Connell, Mill Hill, Appleby, Cumbria.

AFTER 40 years at the chalkface, I can sympathise with many of the grumbles of the anonymous Yorkshire deputy head (Yorkshire Post, August 6). But, as an elected teacher member of the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE), which was set up in 2000, I am sorry he "never found out exactly what it did" and now imagines it has been disbanded.

Part of the core statutory remit of the GTCE was to establish and maintain a register of teachers eligible to teach in state schools. Employers must notify the GTCE if a teacher is dismissed or resigns in circumstances that would have led to dismissal. The police also have to report relevant offences.

The evidence is independently reviewed, and in the light of it, teachers may be prohibited, suspended, remain registered subject to conditions, be reprimanded, or found to deserve no sanction. This is a safeguard for the general public, children and teachers themselves.

In June, Michael Gove surprised even his civil servants when he announced a desire to abolish the GTCE. He may believe that teachers in England – unlike teachers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, unlike doctors, nurses, pharmacists etc – aren't fit to have their own professional regulatory body.

That would, however, require an Act of Parliament. The GTCE will continue to function until government can devise some other way of carrying out the functions, which it acknowledges are necessary, of teacher registration and regulation.

Rail link not park needed

From: Bob Watson, Springfield Road, Baildon, Shipley, West Yorkshire.

DOUGLAS Hartley rightly points out (Yorkshire Post, August 3) that the shambles that is Bradford is soon to be provided with a 24m city park, something that many of its citizens either do not want, or consider to be prohibitively expensive.

When one realises that part of the justification for this park was that it would produce 2.2m visitors to Bradford each year, then one wonders just what will attract such vast numbers to our city?

If there is one thing that would regenerate Bradford far more than

anything else and the catalyst for so much more, then this has to be the proposed cross-city rail link. While this may have to await the eventual upturn in the economy, it is absolutely vital that initial plans are put in place, and the route suitably protected.

Whether Bradford has the foresight to proceed in this way has, sadly,

to be considered somewhat doubtful in view of all that we have seen

over the last few years.

This cross-city link and a refurbished Odeon building would do far more for the regeneration of Bradford than a hugely expensive and not very popular central park.

Diary musings have message relevant for today

From: Mrs CM Binks, Richmond Mews, Shipley, West Yorkshire.

I HAVE been given some transcripts of my grandfather's diaries (he was born in 1860) and one of his letters to the magazine of an association he belonged to seems to me could have been written for today. The date of the letter is December 24, 1930. It reads as follows:

"What of the prospect for 1931? It depends much upon ourselves. There has been a lot of 'grousing' during this past year. It is a habit we have got into. 'Trade is rotten, going to the dogs' etc. Things are not really as bad as that and although we are having a trying time, we shall come through all right as we have done many times before and be the better for it. The 'whip of necessity' which is over most of us is not altogether a bad thing, it makes us fight our way through – without it we should become flabby and good for nothing. It is the nature of man to fight. From first to last it is a fight for very existence. When the necessity to fight dies out the race will die out also, but if fight we must let it be for something worthwhile, trade, progress, improved social conditions and standard of living, and above all to make the world better and happier to live in. Compared with the 1860s and '70s we are infinitely better off and the improvement will continue as we progress.

"We have no use for pessimism, it leads to disaster. So away with it. 1931 will be a better year, we feel sure of it and we must carry this spirit of confidence to our customers."

Councils should cut to the bone

From: Roger Haw, Old Manor Drive, Oxspring, Sheffield.

REFERRING to proposed Government funding cuts, Barnsley Council boss Phil Coppard is quoted as saying "we will only be able to do what we have the legal obligations and statutory obligations to do" (Yorkshire Post, July 24) and that "discretionary" spending will stop.

Surely all that most taxpayers require from their local authority is that they fulfil this function and that they do not raid our pockets further to finance any manner of inessential activities?

Mr Coppard further suggested that he would be "taking things down to the absolute bare bones". Is this not what every successful private enterprise has to do every day of the week to remain competitive? It has been reported elsewhere that Barnsley Council employs 30 per cent of the working population in the area. There has to be something incorrect in a structure where two-thirds of the working population employ the remaining third to provide essential services. Would not a ratio of one in 10 (or even less) be more realistic?

Problems with TV reception

From: David H Rhodes, Keble Park North, Bishopthorpe, York.

IT is now more than three months that I have had difficulty in

receiving television programmes put out by the BBC. The choice seems to be no reception at all, a fuzzy jigsaw of pixels and occasionally a proper picture.

A friend of mine in Pocklington seems to be getting a worse deal than myself in York so how widespread is the problem? I am led to believe that it is connected to major work on the TV mast at Emley Moor. I feel that the BBC should offer an apology to those affected, say through the Press, along with a statement as to when the problem will be resolved. Further updates could then follow if so required.

In light of the inconvenience caused, can we expect the licence fee to remain the same for 2011?