Car park security needs paying for
Dear Editor, It’s all very well Gary Carter complaining that NHS hospitals charge visitors/patients/staff to park their cars when attending such places but who is going to pick up the bill for maintenance of the car parks and providing the much needed car park security?
NHS trusts use experts in car park management for the simple reason the trusts are experts in providing health care and NOT car park management. This needs to be paid for. As I understand the financial surplus available after paying for the management and security of car parks is ploughed back into patient care.
So Mr Carter would like to go back to free car parks at our hospitals. So which of the clinical services his local Shrewsbury hospital provides would he like to see funding the car park management and security or would he prefer no car park management and security?
I am also very surprised that he says a nurse was paying £7 per day to park as I believe that most if not all NHS trusts have a discounted staff tariff schemes for those employed at their hospitals. I am almost sure that if you are as unfortunate as in Mr Carter’s case and need to attend a relative on a very regular basis there are provisions to provide a much reduced (or even free) car park charge. You just need to ask.
With regards to my local NHS hospitals – the QE and Selly Oak hospitals prior to car park charges being introduced, you would find it hard to find a free space because significant number of car parking spaces were taken up by people having no dealings with the hospital either as a patient of member of staff. They used the NHS free parking as an alternative to buying permits to work in the nearby university or as a park and ride for those working or shopping in the city. Since the introduction of car parking fees these interlopers have gone elsewhere, freeing up valuable NHS car parking spaces.
Prior to the introduction of car parking charges, NHS car parks were blighted with car vandalism and theft. I suspect Mr Carter will find these anti-social occurrences have been almost completely eradicated in NHS car parks because there is professional car parking security which include CCTV, lighting and patrols.
So according to Mr Carter the NHS raised £116 million from its car park charges. Let’s scrap these charges as Mr Carter suggests and start the debate where we can find the £116 million to keep our NHS car parks safe and secure for all those needing to use a parking space. I’m sure the Government will not be funding this. Potentially clinical services will reduce to fund this cost.
We all really need to get this in perspective, if people want free car NHS parking then we will go back to the bleak old days when you would regularly see nurses coming off shifts late at night walking through dark car parks only to find their car vandalised or we pay for a better safe service. Nothing in life is free Mr Carter.
Alan Last, Kings Norton
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Can’t wait, won’t wait: We need action to abolish the last ‘ism’
Dear Editor, In June last year, the Government took an important step – they finally acknowledged the injustices faced by older people every day and promised to abolish the last ‘ism’ permitted in our society, by banning age discrimination in the planned Equality Bill.
But now senior citizens face an even longer wait before they get any protection from discrimination. An 18-month government review of ageism in health and social care threatens to push the passing of any new law well past the next election – and at that point the chance for change could well be lost.
This is a huge disappointment. I’ve written to my MP to ask them to sign Early Day Motion 458 to call for swift action to ban age discrimination. I urge your readers to do the same and support the Help the Aged Just Equal Treatment campaign. They can take action by calling 020 7239 1982 or going to http://www.helptheaged.org.uk/justequaltreatment
Older people who are being denied vital health care or struggle to buy insurance cannot afford to wait.
Gordon Lea
Bromwall Road, Birmingham
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Companies can delay their tax payments
Dear Editor, The article on Wednesday 21 January 2009 “Loophole in tax scheme see construction firms hit again” is incorrect.
The article stated construction firms could be in danger of losing CIS status if they take advantage of HM Revenue & Customs Business Support Payment Scheme. This is not true. The scheme offers all companies the opportunity to delay paying taxes by making a payment arrangement which they can afford.
So far nearly 2,000 businesses in the West Midlands have taken advantage of the scheme – delaying the payment of over £36million in the last six weeks.
Help and advice is available from the Business Support Payment Scheme on 0845 302 1435.
Jennie Kendall
Regional spokesman for HM Revenue & Customs
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Over a hundred million of the world’s poorest families have been aided by small loans scheme
Dear Editor, Today marks a global landmark in banking
The Microcredit Summit Campaign 2009 Report is published today and confirms that 106 million of the world’s poorest families received a micro loan during 2007. This means that the campaign has hit its mark of 100 million families to be reached by microfinance which was set in 1997!
Microfinance provides small loans, usually not more than £20, and other financial services to help people start or expand a tiny business to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Poverty is defined as living off less than $1.25 a day.
The Grameen Bank is an example of successful micro credit banking in Bangladesh, started in the 1980s by Professor Muhammad Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
This model of microfinance proves that the poorest people - mainly the women - can be reached, able to help themselves and repayments are 98%. This proves that a civil society lead can reach a global scale - not governments and not big business.
“Small is beautiful but can grow and become powerful but still beautiful.”
The UK should champion microfinance as an effective tool for poverty alleviation. They should integrate lessons from the Microfinance Summit Campaign and ensure that they use clear targets to achieve measurable outcomes, whilst fully monitoring the impact of their polices.
Caroline Hurd
Osmaston Road
Harborne
