Welcome support for rescue teams

THOSE of us up here in the Dales, and in the Lake District, should congratulate the MPs such as Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) and Rory Stewart (Penrith and the Border) whose campaign has ensured that grants totalling £200,000 for 2014-15 and £250,000 for 2015-16 will be provided for the mountain and cave rescue organisations.

This is entirely voluntary 
work with just the bonus of equipment which is not subject to VAT and we owe them a great debt of gratitude.

When Julian Smith mentioned in the Commons that the Transport Secretary had been 
on his bike in Skipton and 
Ripon with him and asked if he would now commit to coming down a cave with him, the Speaker’s response of “the Hon Gentleman poses a very serious challenge to even the most vivid imagination in the House” went down well.

At least John Bercow, not the most popular Speaker of modern times, has a sense of humour.

Law an ass on savage dog

From: Jane Mitchell, Barkston Ash.

I AM aghast at the decision of District Judge Roy Anderson to impose a suspended destruction order on the dog which caused devastating physical and mental injuries to little Layla Musse (The Yorkshire Post, March 25).

Would he have been so lenient if the child in question had been a member of his own family?

He has now given the dog further opportunity for another attack on an unsuspecting member of the public. Surely this cannot be right.

The law in this instance is indeed an ass.

Better than bingo for tax

From: Barbara Harrison, Parkside Avenue, Queensbury, Bradford.

I REFER to the tax cut for beer and bingo (The Yorkshire Post, March 20) and the raising of personal tax allowance to £10,500 to help the cost of living.

Those people who already have tax allowance left over because of their level of income (the grey voters receiving state pension and perhaps not being able to save up to £15,000) 
must be thrilled that they 
can now support Bob Theakston with his theory that people 
will be able to get out and support their local pub (especially as they can also start to play bingo as an affordable new pastime).

It would be better if people could pass on their unused tax allowance to their partner (as they could do many years ago).

That concession would be of far more benefit than a saving on beer and bingo and would be a definite help towards the cost of living.

King’s family must decide

From: Canon Michael Storey, Healey Wood, Road, Rastrick.

IN my 30+ years as an Anglican priest, I have taken hundreds of funerals.

In all those years, the decision as to what to do with a deceased person’s remains has been made by members of the deceased’s family. I have never taken orders from an university.

Usually, in the case of the death of the second spouse, the remains have been put as near as possible to the place of burial of the first spouse, whether it be a coffin or ashes.

The obvious place for Richard III’s remains is next to his wife in Westminster Abbey; second choice being made by descendents.

Leicester should have no 
say in this from a moral point 
of view.

Pray God that right prevails!

Leave the 
BBC alone

From: Eric Vevers, Turnberry Avenue, Alwoodley, Leeds.

WHAT a load of nonsense from the Rev Neil McNicholas (The Yorkshire Post, March 20) in which he criticises the “Beeb” in no uncertain terms, mainly because it is funded by the public purse and ought to ‘justify its existence in the real world.

There are millions of us who much prefer the BBC to watching the commercial stations with their puerile ads. The “Beeb” does a great job trying to please and entertain us all and should be left alone because they remain one of the best, if not the best, public-funded organisations left.

Leadership failure in NHS

From: Dr David Hill, Chief Executive, World Innovation Foundation, Huddersfield.

THE dire state of Rotherham NHS (The Yorkshire Post, March 22) is a single example of the inherent mess that the whole of the NHS suffers from and where the long-term management culture is at the very heart of this vast problem. Note that I do not say the foot soldiers of the NHS, the doctors and the nurses.

I was employed many years ago within a health authority. Some senior managers, who thought they had a divine right to be paid out of the public purse, had their golf clubs as a permanent fixtures within their car boots.

The ones ultimately responsible for this juggernaut’s financial drain on the nation are successive governments who have allowed this monumental failure of management to persist.