Empty slogans

You reported (10 Feb) that Wiltshire Council is having to make a cut of roughly £10m to its staffing budget.

Many of their lower-paid employees, who are required to work unsocial hours, which includes overtime, standby and call-outs, will now lose the extra allowances they receive for these. In addition Council workers are going to be subject to a pay freeze, while inflation is running above 5 per cent, and they will be paying an additional 1.25 per cent in National Insurance from this April. Meanwhile Wiltshire residents face a £16m cut to Council services.

What does it say about the Government’s promise of a high wage economy, when employees under a Conservative-run Council, are going to be several thousand pounds worse off this year than last? And is ‘Levelling Up’ any more than an empty slogan when residents find their Council services are to be so savagely cut?

John Boaler

Woodland Park

Calne

No responsibility

Unfortunately, Councillor Ian Wallis stands in a long line of would-be champions for the cleaning up of dog poo - a source of extreme annoyance to many people and not just in Devizes!

He is right to say that any form of warden enforcement is virtually impossible, especially in regard to those offences which take place during darkness. Perhaps an extensive system of CCTV cameras managed by Artificial Intelligence could be the answer, but at great cost to the community both in terms of cost and intrusiveness.

Appeals to the sense of responsibility of some dog owners might help. The provision of poo bag dispensers in key locations might help more. However, very sadly, it is evident that the sense of entitlement among others might mean that the problem will never go away?

Nigel Carter

By email

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A platinum effort

As a follow up to my question “What plans has Wiltshire Council in coordination with the Lord Lieutenants office to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee?” I will be asking the following at Tuesday’s full council meeting.

“I thank the leader for his answer but suggest that after the years we have had with the pandemic, and now with the re-emergence of high levels of inflation, the one bright occasion that we can all make an effort for is the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The Queen’s 70 years of service is indeed a platinum achievement, and one which will not be repeated in any of our lifetimes.

I believe Wiltshire Council and indeed all of us as councillors in partnership with the Lord Lieutenant’s office have a platinum opportunity to get involved in what is going on across our wonderful county.

I can remember as a child the Silver Jubilee back in 1977, and some will remember right back to the Coronation itself. This will be a ‘Platinum’ chance to make memories for children they will hold all their lives. So, my question, not just for Wiltshire Council and the Lord Lieutenant’s Office, but for all of us as Councillors, is for the sake of taking some time and making some effort, should we not all get involved and have some fun while we’re at it? Let’s get involved with the street parties, the tree planting, offer encouragement, and get out there, light beacons and wave the Union Jack for her majesty and for our communities, it is our duty.

And while we’re at it Mr Clewer, why not declare the four days, from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June, free parking to allow our residents and staff to celebrate from one market town to another?

Dr Brian Mathew

Lib Dem Shadow Cabinet member for the Environment

& Wiltshire Councillor for Box & Colerne

Time to change attitudes

This is Paul Treacy, the Author of the Hidden Disabilities, Challenging Institutional Unfairness book. I wish to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to the people of Chippenham and Wiltshire for the messages of support I have received since my recent article, regarding the daily struggles of Autistic people yearning to be more accepted by mainstream society, my book and the revised edition to come. The fact that the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive is a step in the right direction. To continually force anyone on the Autism Spectrum to try and make more of an effort to order to please others, month after month, year after year, is both exhausting and damaging to both us and our families. If you and/or any family member are on the Autism Spectrum then will know exactly what I mean by the constant challenges faced by everyday life.

It is mainstream society that needs to change, to become tolerant and for Christians to be at the forefront of this change. Hence, why I wrote the original book, back in March 2021 in which I talk about the pitfalls and setbacks that I have been forced to endure over the years. Although the original copy has been sold in over a dozen countries since, including Russia, Japan and South Korea, it is a little bit on the short side and has a few errors within. I have nearly doubled the existing content with a revised edition which I am proofreading very thoroughly this time. It should be available by the end of April 2022 at the latest. May I kindly ask all Christian readers to make a note in their diaries and calendars. If you have family and friends anywhere in the United States, can you please let them know about it too. (The publishers are based near Indianapolis.) Writing both versions of the book has been very tough at times but if I can change just one life anywhere in the world for the better and encourage just one person to turn to Jesus, then it would have all been completely worth it.

Paul Treacy

Chippenham

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