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I AGREE with Emma Lawton when she says that the Licensing Act does not currently provide a sufficient voice for local residents when opposing applications (“Public opinion seems powerless when trying to defy the supermarkets”, YouSay, August 16).

I also think that the system disproportionately favours applicants (who can afford expensive legal representation) over the local community (who mostly cannot).

I sincerely hope that the UK Government will consider these problems when they reform the Act during the current Parliament.

However, I must take issue with Ms Lawton when she suggests that licensing applications can only be turned down when the police object.

This is demonstrably not the case – the objections of residents, local councillors and other interested parties are all taken into account, and I know that my colleagues and I give serious consideration to nuisance problems caused by licensed premises when considering whether to grant an application.

To help Ms Lawton and other residents who wish to make representations on a licensing application, Cardiff Council provides a form which allows interested parties to explain their concerns.

This form is available on the council’s website or on request from the Licensing Department.

Reform of the Act is needed, but local communities still have a voice and will still be heard – and that’s something we can all drink to!

Councillor Ed Bridges

Chair, Cardiff CouncilLicensing Committee

Politicians and police in battle

I FEEL compelled to write to you following the incredible and disturbing events of recent weeks when regrettably we witnessed what the politicisation of the police may look like.

We were witnesses to an undignified battle between the home secretary and police chiefs across the country, each claiming they were in charge.

We may need to get used to these events as next May the public of England and Wales will be electing police and crime commissioners on a possible political ticket.

There is a distinct possibility that such public confrontations will be played out more frequently in the media.

It is absolutely right that chief constables make operational decisions that can mean the difference between life and death. They do this based on their knowledge, expertise and considerable experience.

Police authorities provide the much-needed middle ground between a politicised police force and one which is unaccountable. They consist of elected representatives and independent members, providing a wide range of skills and expertise, local knowledge and understanding of the diversity within their communities. I believe that this is a combination that works well.

The Government claims that the public hear little about their police authority, and this is systematic of their failure to hold the police to account.

However, a recent inspection of 22 out of 43 authorities by HM Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC), which included Gwent and South Wales, showed that none failed to hold their force to account, and over 97% of 110 HMIC assessments were scored ‘excellent’, ‘good’ or ‘adequate’.

Police authorities surely provide a democratic overview, and I believe appropriate governance for policing.

Mrs PE Davies

Chair, Gwent Police Authority

Sign of country’s spiritual decline

THE deputy Prime Minister has stated that no one political party has the monopoly of wisdom as to the cause of the recent disturbances.

Which is quite right, because the explanation is not political but spiritual. The Bible clearly shows that social corruption stems from a moral decline, which stems from a spiritual decline. This downward spiral started with man’s refusal to acknowledge God’s authority, and even to acknowledge His existence.

Any sane person can see that this creation requires a creator.

The first thing we must do is stop indoctrinating our schoolchildren with the erroneous notion of atheistic evolution as fact.

Darwin admitted his mistake, but there were too many keen to jump on his bandwagon and keep it rolling, so that we now have several generations of heathens who know nothing but what they have been told, just like the Russians under Communist rule with their Dialectical Materialism (when millions were murdered or imprisoned for daring to disagree).

Fortunately, the Russians have seen their error and abandoned it. This country is still in the darkness of ignorance.

Richard Dawkins should realise that ridicule is not fact – it is not science, it is simply bile. His specious intellectual arguments can only lead to moral corruption and the total disregard for life and property that we have recently witnessed.

If this country is bemoaning its present state, it should listen to God’s word – “Them that honour Me I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.”

John Marchant

Fairwater, Cardiff

Police can deal with trouble

PROFESSOR Dave Adamson has it wrong with his remarks about rioting in Cardiff (“Angry rioters ‘could set our streets alight’”, Echo, August 17).

I and many others are well aware of the troubles in Cardiff at weekends and, as always, the police are able to curtail any problems.

Serious incidents are few and far between and invariable well out of sight of the usual crowd of revellers.

One should also draw attention to Welsh citizens who also help to curtail any wrong-doing.

Witness, for example, the exemplary behaviour of crowds at rugby internationals. If trouble erupts, one can be sure that true rugby fans will deal with it.

Often the police and stewards are unaware anything has happened.

C Thomas

Morganstown

Lawyers will do well from riots

IT IS not just glaziers who will benefit from the current spate of riot and insurrection in the UK.

The greatest rewards will accrue to lawyers, who will not only be more than adequately remunerated for defending and prosecuting those allegedly involved, but will also rake it in at public expense through civil actions.

According to the Association of British Insurers, uninsured people who have suffered loss in the riots can claim compensation from the police under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886.

No doubt insurance companies will seek to recover pay-outs to their own customers via the same route.

The resulting costly legal battles to decide liability should ensure that legal practitioners on both sides will ride the economic downturn while the public will no doubt be double-dipped in having to pay both higher taxes and raised insurance premiums.

John Eoin Douglas

Edinburgh

Not too late to run for diabetes

IT is not too late to register to run the Cardiff 10K in aid of health charity Diabetes UK Cymru.

Taking place at 10am on Sunday, September 11, it takes runners past some of the city’s best sights including Cardiff Castle.

Around one in 20 people are now diagnosed with diabetes in Wales and the condition, sadly, can lead to devastating complications including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness and even amputation.

The funds our Cardiff 10K runners raise will enable us to support people with the condition and their families throughout Wales and continue to pay for crucial research into diabetes.

We give all of our runners a free fundraising pack including a Diabetes UK running top, sponsorship forms and a training guide.

To register for the 10K, which costs £24, please call 029 2066 8276, e-mail wales@diabetes.org.uk or visit www.diabetes.org.uk/wales for more information.

Joseph Cuff

National fundraising manager, Diabetes UK Cymru