Wednesday's Letters: New initiative won't beat oldest trick in book

SO the coalition Government's "revolutionary" universal credit will solve the problem of the massive benefit bill (Yorkshire Post, October 4), and ensure that those in work are better off than on the dole?

They always have been.

Iain Duncan Smith and George Osborne need to get up very much earlier. They are about to legitimise the oldest trick in the benefit fraud book. Don't they know it's been going on for years?

Successive governments (including ones they have supported) have failed to stem this fraud as benefit beneficiaries have worked on the QT for undeclared cash.

Smart schools do not guarantee street-smart government. IDS and

Osborne have a long way to go and will have to employ regiments of snoopers for this to work.

In fact, it smacks of previous expensive Tory reorganisations. Remember Keith Joseph's multi-layered NHS management reforms?

But, as David Cameron says, it will take 10 years for the effects to be felt – by then they will be well clear and we'll still be footing the bill. But it will get some cheers in Birmingham this week.

From: L Hirst, Highfield.

WHAT has happened to the standards of morality and respect in our country these days? Labour elects a leader who may one day become

PM of this great country of ours, who walks through conference at the end with a partner who has one child and is pregnant with another out

of wedlock.

What a standard to set for the young people of our nation. We spend thousands of pounds trying to teach them better morals. What with MPs claiming expenses that they are not entitled to and using public property to entertain their mistresses, what next?

My mother and father, who were married 54 years, had eight children with six still living over 70, and were extremely dedicated

Labour people. They would turn over in their graves if they knew what was happening these days.

My three brothers and I have all served our country in the forces, but when I look at the state of our nation now, I wonder why we did it and

many others of our age have the same opinion.

As I am coming to the twilight of my years I thought I would voice my thoughts about the country I was once proud of and proud to say I

was British.

Life goes on for Investors in People

From: Carole Reid, director of Investors in People Yorkshire and Humber, Cardale Park, Harrogate.

DAN Lewis of the Economic Policy Centre referred to the closure of Investors in People as part of the Government's "quango review" (Yorkshire Post, September 27).

As many local organisations work with the Investors in People Standard, I wanted to reassure them that this business improvement tool is still very much available.

On April 1 this year, strategic ownership of Investors in People was transferred to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills and the former head office organisation – Investors in People UK – was closed. However, Investors in People's products and services continue to be provided by a network of regional centres. The centre for Yorkshire and Humber region is idg (formerly YHAL), based in Harrogate.

Our network of 50 approved and quality-assured associates is working with organisations across the region to help improve their productivity and performance. I hope other local businesses continue to work with the Investors in People's framework to meet their goals and objectives.

From: Dr Maggie Atkinson, Office of the Children's Commissioner, London.

I READ with interest Dan Lewis's article "We should cull the quangos to get effective government". He wrote about the Office of the Children's Commissioner, giving it as an example of massive spending on rebranding "complete with new websites". I would like to correct a few factual inaccuracies.

We reverted to our original name of the Office of the Children's Commissioner when I took up the post in March. This was because we wanted people to easily understand what we do and, from the feedback, this has been achieved. This was done with a minimal spend to change the logo and stationery. There were no new "websites". We simply changed our web address.

There were many elements of the old branding which we liked as they had been chosen in consultation with children. We have retained these elements such as the shapes and icons chosen by children that are still

used in our publications, website and other publicity material.

This has allowed us to carry on using the parts of the old branding which children and young people supported most with a name that allows everyone to recognise us.

A small inconvenience

From: Steve Wilson, General Dental Practitioner, The Dental Practice, High Street, Northallerton.

THE Care Quality Commission has been established to attempt to raise health care standards nationwide, so it is disappointing to see local dentists' leaders taking a negative stance to this process (Yorkshire Post, September 30).

Criminal Records Bureau checks form a small part of the registration, assessment and proposed inspection process and are clearly in our patients' best interests.

While it may be time consuming to have to visit a Crown Post Office to hand over the paperwork and have one's documents checked, this action has to be carried out by many other professions such as teachers and social workers. The offices are open six full days per week and I know from personal experience offer an efficient service.

To suggest a "battle bus" of dentists should descend on the Leeds office is both childish and unprofessional – the only people inconvenienced by this approach would be counter staff and the public.

This dissenting approach will only serve to diminish the profession's reputation with our patients.

Flight of the raptors

From: Malcolm Rainforth, Southfield Avenue, Ripon.

WHY is it that, week in week out, someone from the RSPB has to harp on about hen harriers and, for that matter, other raptors? Are these the only birds that should be allowed to fill our skies now? It seems that these bigots think so.

The RSPB just can't get it into their heads that the more of this rubbish that's now flying around, the fewer there will be of the true song birds that myself and many others want to see and which are decreasing in numbers.

Never mind what the RSPB and Natural England, etc want us to believe with their so-called counts, may I say this to the RSPB and others: it is a good job that there are those around who are controlling the numbers of raptors that are now flying around, be it legal or not.

Hospital radio charged for football ground parking

From Dr Mike North, Woodlands Road, Batley.

I WAS interested to read of other recent experiences of parking costs in Leeds in addition to a previous letter from last year (Yorkshire Post, July 21).

I am retired and do unpaid work for a charity, HWD Hospital Radio, covering games at Elland Road for the benefit of the patients at Dewsbury and District Hospital. I am charged 5 per game to park since the council took over the car parks, whereas Leeds United kindly provided me with a free press pass when it was in charge

of parking.

I applied for a press pass to Paul Rogerson, then chief executive of Leeds City Council, at the start of the 2007-8 season. His reply stated: "I understand that the cost of a permit for the car parks at Elland Road is 130 per season and unfortunately Leeds Council is unable to subsidise this cost for the benefit of Kirklees taxpayers."

Two points arise:

n Leeds Hospital radio service receives free passes for car parking at the Galpharm Stadium when reporting to Leeds hospitals.

n I believe that there are patients in Dewsbury and District Hospital from South Leeds who may be interested in the progress of Leeds United while in hospital from this hospital service.

I appreciate that mine is an individual situation but it does offer a view about Leeds City Council and its attitude towards parking in Leeds.

Finally, Leeds city taxpayers have not been subsidising me or the taxpayers of Kirklees as I have dipped into my pension to pay my 5 per game over the last three seasons. At a tiny cost per household, perhaps the taxpayers of Leeds would not have been as parsimonious as the council.