Letters

Dear Editor,

As your local MEP, I am encouraged by the ambitious targets set by Wigan Borough Council to tackle homelessness in the town.

It is an absolute tragedy that 21st century Britain has still not solved the issue of homelessness on our streets where many people are living without food, warmth and shelter.

How is it right that the Coalition government continues to justify the spending of over £250 million in foreign aid over the next four years to Somalia when our own people have no home to call their own?

Perhaps Cameron and Clegg need reminding that charity begins at home.

Yours faithfully

Paul Nuttall

Dear Editor,

As your local MEP, I am appalled by the decision to introduce parking charges for blue badge holders by Southport and Ormskirk Hospital Trust, while standard charges are set to be hiked by 10%.

Visiting a friend or relative in hospital isn’t a leisure activity. It is a crucial part of the safeguarding the wellbeing of someone who is receiving treatment.

Therefore why should more charges be introduced on top of the extortionate charges we pay already. Out-patients and visitors are not cash cows for NHS Trusts.

If hospitals in Scotland and Wales can afford to scrap parking charges at hospitals, then why can’t we in Merseyside?

Yours faithfully

Paul Nuttall

Dear Editor,

The unfortunate case of the 32-year old Blackburn woman, abandoned by her husband weeks after he was granted a marriage visa, is proof that our immigration situation had spiralled completely out of control.

The granting of marriage visas has been shown up time and again to result in failure as the entire system is open to such abuse. If a spouse wishes to settle in the UK, surely it is right that they go through the same immigration procedures as any other candidate to ensure that they are settling for the right reasons.

Under the Coalition government, it has been a case of too little, too late in their ability to handle the problem of bogus marriage visas inherited from the last Labour government.

Yours faithfully

Paul Nuttall

Dear Sir,

Last time I checked, HM Prison Manchester, better known as Strangeways, was a high security facility used to protect the general public from dangerous Category A criminals, not some sort of five star resort.

Why is it therefore that there has been almost 3,500 official complaints from prisoners for trivial matters such as outstanding DVDs, missing newspapers and demands for hot chocolate? Prison is not a holiday camp. It is a consequence for committing a serious crime.

Prison is a place for punishment, not pampering.

Yours faithfully

Paul Nuttall

Dear Sir,

As the UKIP spokesman for Health and Sport, I fully support the British Olympic Association By-Law, introduced in 1992 that introduced lifetime bans for drug cheats and condemn any move that will allow abusers to represent Team GB at London 2012.

Standards set by the World Anti-Doping Agency which call for a maximum two year ban do not go far enough, and any attempt to harmonise our sporting regulations to the ‘norm’ will do more harm than good.

The British Olympic Association has the right to select who can and cannot represent us on the world’s grandest stage. Their decision to implement life time bans have been vindicated by the fact that Team GB by comparison to many other competing nations have a reputation of being clean and drug free.

If anything, the World Anti-Doping Agency should follow the lead of the BOA and implement life time bans to all cheating athletes.

Yours faithfully

Paul Nuttall

Dear Sir,

It is incredibly disappointing to hear that five libraries in Bolton are scheduled to shut by April next year due to council spending cuts.

With reading perhaps the most important aspect of educational development it seems as though we are selling our children’s futures down the river. The money saved from closing these libraries is insignificant compared to the money currently spent overpaying council chief executives and those in town hall non-jobs.

Libraries provision is an essential front line service, that all residents depend upon at one time or another, however it is sad to hear that next year many will find their closest library too far away.

Yours faithfully

Paul Nuttall

Dear Sir,

As your Local MEP, I am coming out in support of the creation of a newly formed Crewe Town Council.

I have long held the belief that decisions that affect local communities should be taken by bodies that are as close to those communities as possible.

A local Town Council, democratically elected, will ensure that key decision making for Crewe-only matters is taken only by those elected from within the town.

Many residents are finding that their borough councillors have become too distant from the wards they were elected to serve as they struggle to decide where to make big cuts in public services.

The creation of a Crewe Town Council will ensure that the link between residents and decision makers is not only saved, but strengthened.

Yours faithfully

Paul Nuttall