Letters to the Editor

1.Will "care in the community" mean elderly people will be given help with the cleaning of their own home?

2. What will happen during the night when frail people need to use the toilet?

3. The elderly cannot be given help to have a bath in their own home. Will this change? If they go into a home for respite care, they can have a bath. But what will happen to respite care?

4. Will Social Services rely on relatives and friends to meet the inevitable shortfall in care?

Generally older people are more happy in their own homes, but they are realistic enough to know when they can no longer cope and need to be cared for.

J Meggison, Jowett Park Crescent, Thackley.

SIR - It is quite incorrect to malign the Bingley Show organisers for not relocating. By the time Councillor Hawkesworth became aware of the situation, it was far too late to consider the change of venue.

It is not only the general public who will miss a great day out, and exhibitors the challenges of the day, but other local organisations also suffer. For example our printing was effected by a local church, so helping the community in other ways. Some playschemes also include the show in their activities.

It is sad that so many will miss so much because of so few. The children of the families concerned could surely have enjoyed an educational and fun day at the show, and played off the roadside for just one day.

Myrtle Park is very lovely but the new venue too has much to offer being noticeably more accessible to those who may, like myself, have limited mobility.

Miss F E Evans, Eskdale Rise, Bingley.

SIR - You ask "Should we call time on Odsal?" (T&A, July 19). No!

Geoffrey Richmond developed Valley Parade without taking into account its location. For home and away supporters parking is difficult, cars are regularly vandalised, little "Hitlers" act as stewards and all in an area not safe or desirable, especially at night. Move here?

Bradford Council talk about re-generation. What a pity they don't see Odsal as a regeneration project. They wait for areas to de-generate. They have no vision.

If Odsal had a different post code, the Council would have bent over backwards to help push the development through.

The Council are happy wasting money in other areas, eg hiring a private company to run the Bradford Festival. The bid to be a capital of culture while destroying a part of Bradford's cultural heritage is nothing less than hypocritical.

We need a decent stadium at Odsal. City can come too!

Mary-Jo Daly, St. Helena Road, Wibsey.

SIR - I think it's time the Council told the truth and said they don't want the Bulls at Odsal. If the truth be known they have other plans for it, like selling it off. Other councils (examples Hull, Widnes) get on and build new stadiums without all this trouble.

Bradford Capital of Culture? Don't make me laugh. Also what's this about the Council putting in a bid for the Special Olympics in 2005? Sport? What ground are they going to use?

Mrs D Burns, Truncliffe, Bankfoot, Bradford.

SIR - So our MPs have now achieved their aim of having the taxpayer part-fund the 25 per cent improvements to their already generous final-salary pension schemes, while ordinary working people everywhere lose theirs and face pensioner poverty. The decision was sneaked out undercover of the spending review.

I recently wrote (Letters, April 11) about the social injustice suffered by people earning the minimum wage in the private sector, who receive no state help but who are forced to fund through the council tax the pensions of those in the public sector.

These are workers on poverty wages who can scarcely afford the punitive council tax increases (11 per cent over the past two years), let alone a pension for themselves. There was not one defence of this inequity, and no response from anyone from the public sector.

However my MP Gerry Sutcliffe (Letters, April 26), while predictably avoiding any reference to the council tax hikes, assured us of his opposition to the plan to increase his pension benefits, to the extent that he voted against the proposal.

Can we now expect to see his affirmation that he will be declining the enhanced benefits in line with his obvious principles?

Barry Joseph Daniels, Hawes Road, Bradford 5.

SIR - Regarding the recent council workers' strike, it is about time somebody stood up to this so-called Labour Government.

Hypocrisy? They must have invented the word. They and other parties have voted themselves, out of taxpayers money, massive pay rises and pension rights. And when lowly-paid council workers ask for modest pay rises, they are accused of being militants.

Council workers, especially the manual workers and OAPs (of which I am one), are at the bottom of the pay league. It's about time this Government rectified this sorry state of affairs.

To the council workers I say: "Strike. I for one am behind you".

Let's have some fairness of wages instead of these fat cats snouting it in the trough, especially MPs who are voted in and can be voted out.

Michael Breen, Bolton Hall Road, Bradford 2.

SIR - Once again we see them crawling out of the woodwork and letting us, the public, know they still exist - the "extremists" in government, local government, unions etc.

As I have said in letters to the T&A for years (including the year of discontent) "socialism" looks good in print but does not work in practice.

If the extremists got their way (safeguarded jobs at all costs) we would still be using possers, peggy tubs and wringing machines.

We have (thank god) through enterprise and initiative moved forward. More and more people are able to think for themselves, refuse to be dictated to and are willing to accept change.

Mrs Thatcher beat them hands down. Tony Blair has no option but to do likewise.

S Walsh, Church Street, Bingley.

SIR - I read last week with disgust of the proposed closure of Thorpe Primary School at Idle.

Thorpe Middle was a fine school, up to its recent change over to primary. If it closes (thanks to the Council) we are going to be faced with possible demolition.

This building deserves more than wanton destruction. Let us all try and save this school. Already there are petitions going up in several shops and clubs. The children of Idle want to keep it.

I am asking the Education Department to think again about this closure. The building is over 100 years old and is a listed building. But there again, how did they get around building on a green belt on Leeds Road, Idle?

J A Wills, Idle Village Tenants & Residents Association, c/o Idle Baptist Church Community Centre, Bradford Road, Idle.

SIR - Please help us save our school. It is a good school and we enjoy going there. We like our teachers and have lots of friends who don't want it to close so please support us. Thank you.

Kelsey Shoesmith (aged seven), Jamie Shoesmith (four), and Chloe Shoesmith (three), Cavendish Road, Idle.

SIR - What an outrageous suggestion from J Murphy, proposing to lock social workers and probation officers up along with their pet repeat offenders (Letters, July 22).

No decent taxpayer would look kindly on the prospect of forking out cash to keep these drains on society in prison. No, better to declare open season on the lot of them, then we can all sit back and relax in safety, secure in the knowledge that the police can do their job without hindrance.

Sandy Parkinson, Grigg Place, Hilton, Western Australia.