But can our creaking capital cope? I have already raised my concerns about London’s ill-equipped infrastructure with the relevant authorities ahead of
But can our creaking capital cope? I have already raised my concerns about London’s ill-equipped infrastructure with the relevant authorities ahead of this summer’s Euro 96 football festival.
The proposed huge new developments will bring much-needed inward investment but will local residents be consulted, will the environment get a look in and will the welcome employment opportunities be simply Mickey Mouse jobs? Let’s learn some lessons from other European capitals and begin with a proper strategic authority to take London into the 21st century.Yours,Robert EvansMEP for London NW (Lab)Wembley, Middlesex. Total expenditure on social security in Hong Kong has doubled over the past three years.While Hong Kong is not a welfare state – nor will it become one – the Hong Kong government cares for the welfare of our citizens.Yours sincerely,Ian StrachanDirector of Social WelfareHong Kong GovernmentHong Kong. The current payment, at pounds 220 per month, is broadly equivalent to the UK old-age pension rate. He was a drug abuser who had chosen to move out of his family home.
Our social security system in Hong Kong is not rudimentary Those supported by it are not in “unbearable poverty”. Over the past three years the average payments to a single social security customer have increased by 29 per cent in real terms. All have been offered alternative accommodation by my department During last week’s cold spell, one street sleeper died. The Director of Health has confirmed that none of the post-mortems conducted has shown hypothermia to be a cause of death
Hong Kong has 1,100 people who sleep on the streets.
However, the number of deaths we experienced in Hong Kong over the Chinese New Year holidays was in line with the average for this time of year. Sir: In reply to Stephen Vines’s article (28 February) on the “Victims of cold” weather in Hong Kong: the sick and the elderly are more vulnerable to sudden changes in temperature. It would be iniquitous for this burden to fall solely on British Gas’s shareholders.Yours faithfully,Peter SanguinettiDirector of Corporate AffairsBritish GasLondon, SW1. British Gas has not called for an MMC inquiry into this.If the introduction of competition into the domestic gas industry is to be a success, the issue of the long-term monopoly contracts must be addressed by the industry as a whole.
The potential liabilities arising from these long-term purchase contracts are the result of restructuring the industry in order to create a fully competitive market. Furthermore, it was not until we had seen our market share in the commercial and industrial market eroded by 65 per cent – against an MMC target of 45 per cent – that we were allowed to compete on a fair and equal basis.
These long-term contracts are a legacy of the monopoly era when British Gas, as the licensed monopoly supplier, was legally obliged to purchase gas to meet the most demanding weather conditions. Ninety-eight per cent of contracts were signed before the Government decided to accelerate the development of domestic competition in December 1993. Indeed, 55 per cent of these contracts were actually signed before British Gas was privatised in 1986.
Sir: Lord Gillford (Letters, 27 February) is swift to attack British Gas over “take or pay” contracts. Now, chief executives will have to handle complaints personally, within tight deadlines.Saying sorry quickly is the right way to convince patients that their views are being taken seriously and that the NHS is prepared to learn lessons when things do go wrong.Yours etc,Gerald MaloneMinister for HealthDepartment of HealthLondon, WC2. We need NHS gamekeepers to keep the smart legal poachers Ms Toynbee fears firmly at bay. Pilot studies of mediation techniques as an alternative to court action are also under way.
And a new complaints procedure, based on the Wilson committee report, comes into effect on 1 April – no longer the three-month wait for the cursory reply from a faceless official. It will smooth out the impact of big claims – and build an expertise in handling complex casework. A scheme for trusts has been set up to help manage clinical negligence liabilities. Sir: Polly Toynbee is right to highlight the risk of clinical negligence claims swallowing increasing amounts of NHS cash better spent on patient care (“Legal leeches are bleeding the NHS”, 28 February) But she missed a number of recent developments.