KIRKLEES Council writes off nearly £6m – and it could get worse.

Clr Andrew Cooper, who leads the opposition Greens, predicted that the write-off figure would rise because of the Government’s new universal credit. Oh, how I wish I could borrow Clr Cooper’s crystal ball for seeing into the future.

Clr Cooper, the Government’s forthcoming universal credit has nothing whatsoever to do with the shortfall at this present time.

You and yours are the people who should be making sure that the money is collected. You never fail to collect your payments from us and appear quick to blame others.

I would like to know what steps our council is going to take to ensure that more payments are collected when the new system comes in.

I have no figures on the preferred method of Council Tax payments and council house rent payments but monthly direct debit seems popular.

If these people are on benefits then that money should be paid into a bank account. It should be mandatory – if not already – that payment by direct debit should be set up prior to getting a council house or a private rent.

These shysters just cannot opt out of responsibilities – they must be made accountable for their actions. These people are robbing you and I but in their eyes they think they are getting it from the council or government.

They are totally oblivious as to where the handouts come from. They also think they deserve it and it is their right.

Where did we go wrong?

R J Bray

Shelley

Milnsbridge problems

WHILE observing the traffic flow on Market Street in Milnsbridge recently I noticed quite a few potentially dangerous situations.

A police car, blue lights flashing, trying to cross the bridge for what must have been an emergency call. The car was trying to and did eventually cross the bridge, albeit through the road closed access.

Initially blocked by an HGV, the police car reversed at speed about 30 yards back to let the lorry through, almost hitting a pedestrian.

A few minutes later a works van pulled up after driving the wrong way up George Street and one of the occupants asked “where is this diversion taking us?”

I asked where they wanted to be and advised them of the best route out of Milnsbridge and on to their Barnsley destination.

As we approach the awards season for initiative and planning, maybe we should award a wooden spoon of sorts to Kirklees Highways Department.

Maybe a couple of unemployed people could be recruited by the council with stop-and-go signs to assist and control traffic during daylight hours, then a traffic lights system in the evening.

In the long term a radical new road traffic system must be put in place – another bridge or a complete new redesign of the current abysmal traffic management policy in Milnsbridge.

Paddy Hynes

Golcar

Excessive payments

THE West Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel comes into force in November.

Basically, this is the old police authority who will oversee the work of the Crime Commissioner.

Now these councillors have been given a pay scale of around £22 per hour from the Government which, in my view is excessive, but not according to councillors such as Ken Smith.

He and the others on this panel will now claim around £278 per hour which, of course, will be tax free. How can any councillor claim such expenses beggars belief. What are their legal qualifications? Solicitors don’t get paid that kind of money.

My next question is why do we need this panel? I understood the Crime Commissioners were to replace the Police Authorities. In that case, why don’t we have an Independent Police and Crime Panel to supervise the work of the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel, on the same rates of pay of course.

Regardless of how Ken Smith and other councillors dress this up, it is driven by sheer, unjustified greed.

HARD UP AND FED UP

Huddersfield

Still got the humps

BARNSLEY Council announced in August that it would be installing no more speed humps due to unpopularity in general and from the emergency services in particular.

Kirklees councillors, of course, hold no truck with public opinion (or that of council officers if Mailbag correspondent Vincent Tompkinson is correct) and carry on regardless.

Richard Huddleston

West Slaithwaite

‘Hippies’ right all along

WELL, who would have thought it. All those woolly, green, tree-hugging, bleeding heart, hippy liberals were right all along.

Global warming is here. Whole towns are now becoming uninhabitable. The waters are lapping at our feet. Food scarcity is next.

Russ Elias

Huddersfield

Subsidising wind farms

I DO not understand why people are up in arms over the next round of welfare cuts – someone has to subsidise the wind farms!

Allen Jenkinson

Milnsbridge

The Will to help others

MAKING a Will is one of the most important things any of us can do to ensure our final wishes are met.

However, a large proportion of people don’t ever get around to doing one.

If you are 55 or over and want to make sure your wishes are respected, then why not take up an opportunity to have your Will drawn up for free by a solicitor during October Free Wills Month? The solicitor will have a list of questions for you to make sure everything is covered, but it will help if you have already thought about who you would like to pass on your property and belongings to.

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity is one of 10 major charities behind the initiative for people aged 55 and over to have simple Wills written or updated this October.

When taking up this offer, please consider helping to save more young lives at Great Ormond Street Hospital by leaving a gift in your Will.

By doing so, you will help support research and development into breakthrough treatments and cures for many thousands of sick children now and in the years to come.

To arrange a free Will session in either Huddersfield or Brighouse visit www.freewillsmonth.org.uk or call 0845 020 4309 (local rate).

Tim Johnson

Chief Executive, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity

Growing charity cash

THERE is just one week left to go for nurseries, primary schools and youth groups in West Yorkshire to sign up for Marie Curie Cancer Care’s Mini Pots of Care fundraising activity.

Mini Pots of Care is a free creative and educational project for youngsters aged three to 11 where children receive a pot and daffodil bulb to plant in the autumn.Š

They care for their plant throughout the winter months and then in the spring they celebrate their daffodils in bloom by holding a Mini Pots of Care Day where they have fun painting their pots, learning about the work of Marie Curie Cancer Care and fundraising for the charity.

Register your school or group to take part by calling 0845 052 4184 or visiting www.mariecurie.org.uk/minipotsofcare by October 5.

All money raised from the activity will help Marie Curie Nurses to provide more free care to terminally ill people in their own homes.

Katherine Cordrey

Marie Curie Cancer Care, West Yorkshire

Lucky to live here

HOW lucky Azhar Ahmed is to be living in this country.

He posted the Facebook message following the deaths of six British troops which said “all soldiers should die and go to hell” and has been found guilty of sending a grossly offensive communication.

Maybe he should go and live in Afghanistan and see first hand what our brave soldiers are trying to do instead of watching and listening to radical hot heads on the internet.

A Diskin

Almondbury