Letters: New North Yorkshire Council more money, less service

The first time I realised that the garden waste costs for April-December 2024 is £40 for just nine months, was a tastefully worded line of copy on the label I received on the bin sticker.

Excellent communications. More money, less service.

I also understand there is already a revenue shortfall of £32m for NYC and rising, and yet the salary of Richard Flinton, the chief executive, is to be an astonishing £205,877.

Are we likely to see any commensurate reductions in his take home pay, particularly as his National Insurance contributions have been cut two per cent by Rishi Sunak in the recent budget?

Such a gesture would acknowledge the hardship of the 7.71 per cent increase in council tax that Hambleton pensioners are forking out to become integrated into the dynamic, digital, enhanced NYC.

The sooner AI takes over the CEO’s role the better.

Douglas Adamson, Snape.

Value for money

I WONDER if county councils ever assess whether they provide value for money to those residents who pay ever increasing amounts of council tax? I'm assuming not.

The monthly increase to myself for the 2024/25 tax year to North Yorkshire Council will be £15 – £15 I'd rather spend on something where I feel I derive value for money.

Will I get that from NYC – of course not! I'm paying more for diddly squat!

And a four per cent increase in the Police and Crime Commissioner precept to continue the theme of "invisible policing".

You simply can't make it up.

Neil Harrison, Stokesley.

Careful stewardship

I FEAR for the well-being of your correspondent Gus Pennington who seems to be devoting his life to writing increasingly personal and vitriolic letters about our local MP and Prime Minister, “Budget gamble” (D&S Times letters, Mar 15).

Beneath the bluster, Mr Pennington seems to be saying that any Government and Prime Minister would be better than the current ones.

He should be careful what he wishes for.

The Labour Party is so frightened of committing itself to anything, it has no tangible policies other than "we are not Conservatives".

As for the Lib Dems well, as ever, they demonstrate a laughable ability to promise the world because they know they will never be in a position to deliver any of it – or pay for it.

Meanwhile, Daniel Callaghan's contribution is a textbook example of this, “Supporting farmers” (D&S Times letters, Mar 15).

An alternative view of Rishi Sunak's performance is that when he became PM he was handed an almost impossible job.

Dealing with the economic fall-out of the mad Liz Truss administration was just the start.

More importantly, there was the shock of the war in Ukraine and the impact of "long Covid" on the UK's finances.

Mr Sunak, as Chancellor, was rightly credited with keeping the country afloat during those dark days of 2020 and 2021.

Arguably he was too generous in paying people's wages, slashing VAT and business rates and all the other support measures that were put in place to help people and businesses survive.

All that help is now forgotten, of course.

And the bill – between £350bn and £450bn – is still mounting and of course has to be paid for.

That bill, getting on for half of what the Government spends in just one year, has to be paid by all of us in some way because, of course, Government debt is our debt.

Which is why Mr Sunak's careful stewardship of the economy during the incredibly difficult times we have been through is something we will come to appreciate in future.

The sooner people like Mr Pennington realise that the better.

Trevor Sellars, Bedale.

Understanding autism

THERE are an estimated 15,000 autistic men, women and children in North Yorkshire.

Their needs continue to be misunderstood by local policy and decision makers and by health and social care professionals.

That lack of understanding can and does ruin lives.

Tuesday, April 2, 2024, is World Autism Acceptance Day.

The aim of the day is to help more people understand what autism is, as well as the ways it can affect life for autistic people.

New legislation has come into force requiring anyone working in health or social care to have received training on autism.

That training is called the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training.

It is named in memory of Oliver McGowan who died because the professionals caring for him did not understand autism.

If you are autistic or you are looking after an autistic person, please ask your social worker, paid carers, or health care professionals eg nurse, consultant or GP if they have completed part one of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training.

If they haven’t, please ask them to pledge that they will complete the training by World Autism Acceptance Day 2025.

The Autism Act places a special responsibility on local authorities and the NHS to plan for the needs of autistic people.

The lack of understanding of autism often results in poor planning and unsuitable services.

The failure to recognise and understand autism also results in routine breaches of other legislation and statutory guidance eg Housing Act, Mental Health Act, Equality Act, Care Act, Children and Families Act.

Those breaches mean that autistic people and their families do not get the reasonably adjusted care and support they need.

The consequences for some autistic people and their families can be devastating.

Our local leaders and decision makers – councillors, NHS trust boards, Integrated Care Boards etc – would benefit from improving their understanding of autism by completing the Oliver McGowan training.

Perhaps your newspaper and its readers could ask them if they have done so and, if they haven’t, when they will complete it?

David McAsey, Hutton Rudby.

Mail misdemeanours

IN response to Chris Foote-Wood’s letter “Stamp it out” (D&S Times letters, Mar 22).

We, my husband and I, have suffered three occasions when we have been summoned to retrieve mail from Stockton sorting office.

Each time the time lapse between the expected arrival of the mail (greeting cards on every occasion) has been extreme.

A birthday card for me, which was posted in good time for my birthday, took four weeks until the notification card popped through our letter box with the day’s mail.

That cost £5 to retrieve – my stepson had torn the barcode off the stamp. He was unused to using the most recent incarnation of Royal Mail stamps. I did, jokingly, mention treason for defacing the King’s mail.

On two other occasions we were charged £1.50. We were assured by one sender that the card had been weighed at their local Post Office and the appropriate stamp attached.

So, is this a new scam by the Post Office to make money from the hapless customer?

And the sorting offices now only open for a few hours each day; so an internet check is required before we set off to pick up our post now.

And we believe that Royal Mail in Stockton, at least, do not do daily deliveries any more.

There are definitely some days, randomly selected, when no postman or woman graces our street. There is no wonder that the other delivery services are doing so well. They are cheaper, more efficient and more easily accessed.

I apologise for the length of this diatribe, but I agree with Chris Foote-Wood, there could be another Post Office misdemeanour for ITV or a more worthy and well regarded local newspaper, to investigate.

Linda Holmes, Stockton.

Swap refusal

THE letter from Chris Foote-Wood reminds me of an attempt to return a book of non-barcoded first class stamps, bought at Morrisons, before they became obsolete last year "Stamp it out" (D&S Times letters, Mar 22).

A reply from the Post Office Customer Swap Out Support Team said: "Unfortunately, we are not able to swap out any of the stamps sent in as they are either stamps which have already been used or are not genuine Royal Mail stamps."

I thought that this sounded very much like a standard letter but not having the evidence I could not argue, I have since found out that I am not alone and that Horizon may have more to answer for.

Herbert Lawton, Barnard Castle.

Litter heroine

IN response to “Roadside Litter” (D&S Times letters, Mar 22), litter seems to be rife now in all our country lanes.

However, on the road from the A19 to Hutton Rudby ie Trenholme Lane onto Belbrough Lane, Campion Lane, parts of Garbutts Lane and Black Horse Lane, there is a lady who for quite some time has meticulously picked and bagged all that has been thrown from passing vehicles – unwanted items too numerous to list.

Some time ago I stopped to thank her, assuming she lived locally, but no, she was from another village almost four miles away, I was quite taken aback at this and asked why here?

She explained that her children attended a local school and along her journey from the A19 she could not help but notice the mess left along the route and felt she must try and do something about it and has done so since.

So, it is hats off to a lady I only know as Lorraine, who is held in high esteem by all.

Yes, some of us locals do clear the verges outside our properties, however, this is a thankless task.

If only we knew where these uncaring people lived we could then return their unwanted property free of charge.

Trevor Mason, Swainby, Northallerton.

Mineworkers fund

IT’S outrageous that the Government continues to take hundreds of millions of pounds annually from the Mineworkers Pension Scheme (MPS).

This egregious policy has siphoned off some £4bn over the last 30 years from a scheme established by the weekly contributions of working miners towards their future financial security.

Tens of thousands of families in the Midlands, Yorkshire and the North East have been affected by this quiet, but massive, misappropriation pursued out of public view.

Whichever metrics one chooses to use, the policy has impacted negatively on individuals and coalfield communities over a substantial period of time.

Despite a parliamentary cross party committee in 2021 saying the practice should stop, and despite the current rhetoric of "levelling up," the misappropriation continues.

Indeed, Rishi Sunak's Government and its immediate predecessors have siphoned off more than £400m from the MPS over the last three years.

This malign behaviour perpetuates a Thatcher-inspired antipathy towards the coalfields and other red wall areas most affected by, and still suffering from, austerity measures.

When it talks about a commitment to reducing regional inequalities the Sunak government is rich in cant.

The government's raiding of MPS is a case study of taking with one hand to hand back crumbs with the other.

Gus Pennington, Stokesley.

Necessary evil

LIKE many others, I lament the closing of banks, but this is not surprising.

From a bank’s point of view, retail banking is a necessary evil, one that requires a lot of staff while yielding little profit.

Investment banking is where the real money and excitement is, making it much more sexy than retail banking.

Perhaps the Government could make a condition of a banking licence that any community above a given size must have a physical branch, fully staffed.

But if such a change were proposed, the banks would scream blue murder.

David Martin, York.

Losing listeners

I SEE some of the radio stations are not going to be on Freeview any more from April 2, including Greatest Hits radio, which is not fair for people who do not have a digital radio or are unable to get the app on their phones.

Julie Mathieson, Darlington.

Office sustainability

IT’S great to see the investments coming into Darlington. Can anyone tell me who actually owns the new Government offices being built in Darlington ie who is the landlord?

The news says more office spaces are being made redundant as more and more staff are working from home.

I hope these multi-million pound offices are sustainable in the long term.

Stan Wilby, Darlington.