SIR - Further to the article in last week's Craven Herald, Loss of beds add to worries about hospital", I write to detail the real and human effects of the new funding arrangements between PCTs and Hospital Trusts providing acute services..

My mother is 85 and lives in sheltered accommodation in Settle.

On June 28 she fell and broke her hip and was admitted to Airedale Hospital. With the care that she has received there she has now recovered to the point where a transfer to Castleberg to receive the services which they offer would be ideal to help her regain confidence and mobility.

We were therefore dismayed to learn that this transfer cannot take place for several weeks, not on the basis of patient need, but on that of financial commissioning. With all respect for the care that she has been given, an extended stay on an orthopaedic ward 24 miles away from home is neither necessary nor appropriate, and cannot be beneficial. It must also put pressure on bed availability at Airedale.

Without a speedy response by PCTs, and a change in policy at national level, elderly and vulnerable people like my mother will in effect be left stranded. Until this policy is changed, I believe that the following applies: o Money is not following the patient, as is currently claimed.

o This funding arrangement reflects organisational convenience and not patient need.

o It potentially passes the buck for payment to the patient, as the only 24 hour alternative with nursing care comes from private nursing homes.

o This appears to provide a back door way of reducing services, leaving the way open for closure of the hospital. No matter what protestations may be made about increased monies for community provision, it is well known that community hospitals are under threat.

Castleberg has recently had a reduction of over 40 per cent of its beds, the patients which it is equipped to serve are likely to be either bed blocking in acute wards or paying for their own extended nursing care in a nursing home. The flow of patients is effectively stemmed and it is only a matter of time before reduced numbers could be used to justify closure.

Jenny Hall, Duke Street, Settle.

Hospital charges

SIR - I am writing to ask for your readers' support for Macmillan Cancer Support's Better Deal Campaign which is asking for free hospital parking and help towards travel costs to hospital for people diagnosed with cancer.

I am sure not many people realise that after being diagnosed with cancer, patients face many extra costs of which travel to and from hospital for their treatment and parking are the highest.

I have been diagnosed with cancer twice and have worked out that I have made around 75 trips to two different hospitals and have travelled 950 miles. The petrol for these trips has cost about £1,090.

Parking at hospital has also been very expensive. I have spent around £160 but I know other patients who have had to pay much more.

You could argue that I should use hospital transport or public transport. But this hasn't been an option for me. After cancer treatment you feel sick, tired, and can be in pain and the risk of picking up an infection is too high to risk it.

Macmillan Cancer Support is asking the government for cancer patients to be entitled to free hospital parking and help with travel costs to hospital. Macmillan and cancer patients need your support, so please visit Macmillan's website at macmillan.org.uk/abetterdeal and register your concern by emailing your local MP.

Having cancer is stressful enough without having to worry about finances please help us cut out these extortionate extra costs now.

Philip Bull, Macmillan Cancer Support.

Contested figures

SIR - The late Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels originated the Big Lie theory. It states: "The bigger the lie, and the more often it is repeated, the more people will believe it".

That theory is seemingly shared by Craven District Council. Again and again, in expensively produced propaganda sheets thudding onto to our doormats, in press interviews and handouts, at council meetings and district forums - certain councillors and officers continue to tout Craven's version of the Big Lie.

It concerns "affordable" housing. One element of which is that "Craven harbours 2,000 hidden homeless", claimed last week by the chief officer of Craven Housing (Craven Herald, July 7). His claim is a subset of CDC's main "affordable housing" theme: that it needs to build 1,440 new homes across the district over the next five years to meet a "known" need.

But is the need really "known"? Perhaps it should be doubled to 2,880 homes? Or halved to 720? Maybe we should ask Mystic Meg to quantify the true need. Certainly Craven District Council can't do so!

The issue of affordable housing is too serious for the playing of local government power games. It is crying out for - but denied - a proper professional assessment.

CDC's affordable housing statistics are dredged from research that is fundamentally flawed: my judgement based on over 30 years of involvement with professional consumer and opinion research.

All research can be "cooked" - and much of it is! As one cynical research insider put it: "Decide the result you want, then tailor the questions to achieve it". It would be reassuring to believe this is not the case with CDC's affordable housing survey. But the following facts suggest otherwise.

1 No independent and impartial research organisation could endorse the results of CDC's survey for one simple reason: it is based on a self-selecting postal sample and a statistically inadequate response of 24.6 percent. It was also carried out by a company with a potential commercial interest in the outcome.

2 Reliable data from a postal survey cannot be obtained from a response below 50 per cent - let alone half that figure.

3 The research was carried out by a company unrecognised by either of the UK's two professional research standards bodies. However, that company's main business activities include the project management and provision of affordable housing. It was therefore in a potential position to gain commercial benefit from the outcome of research devised and executed by itself.

4 CDC officers claim they were unaware of this. The firm's website clearly states these interests, and I have an email from its managing director confirming the company actively seeks such project management and development business.

5 Equally disturbing is the firm's decision to subcontract the data capture of completed questionnaires (containing sensitive personal and financial information) to a company specialising in the exploitation of consumer information for marketing purposes.

6 CDC officers again claimed they knew nothing of this until I drew it to their attention. When confronted, they cited the Data Protection Act in the apparent belief that the Act's existence: (a) renders abuse of data impossible; and (b) absolves the council from its duty of care. Are they really that nave?

In the light of the foregoing facts, I hope that voices other than mine - especially those of our elected representatives - will question CDC's research.

Despite the expenditure of considerable sums of public money and much self-congratulatory trumpeting, Craven District Council is today no nearer to gauging the true need for affordable housing than it was before its survey took place.

Peter Scott-Smith, Long Preston.

Computer says no

SIR - Has anyone ever tried to complain to the Post Office? They do not seem to "do" addresses. Try the telephone number in the Phone Book and you may get Customer Services.

I complained that the post box in Kelbrook had been removed and no replacement provided.

"Where is Kelbrook? Oh, I'll put you though to Collections".

Yes, Collections knew that the box had been replaced. No, they had no idea if another one would be provided.

One might be put on the road outside the pub. On the side of the road away from most people in the village. When would that be? These things take time! You could try going to Sough.

Well, I could, but many people in Kelbrook are older, would not want to walk to Sough or cross a very busy A56.

To whom should I complain? Have you tried Customer Services? Bah!

The Post Office knew that our village Post Office was closing for at least a month. That is bad enough. I realise that it takes time to establish premises for a new post office but surely they could have provided a temporary replacement for the post box?

To make matters worse, one councillor had no time just now to follow this up but would pass it on. Another agreed to look into it but has not yet got back to me with any answer. Our MP is tackling the Post Office. Good luck to him.

No wonder people are looking for alternative ways to correspond and fewer are interested in local politics.

John Tomlinson, Dotcliffe Road, Kelbrook.

Another fatality

SIR It is again with great sadness that we read in the Craven Herald of the death of yet another motorist, on June 17, a 46-year-old young man on his motorcycle on the Grassington B6265 road.

Sad, but unfortunately not a surprise, since the beginning of the season the speed on this road from early morning to dusk has been horrendous. I did in fact write to the Herald in August 2000 highlighting this problem. At the same time a cover copy was sent to North Yorkshire County Council. And to date nothing has been done.

The reaction at that time was, and I quote, "The police were considering ways to deal with this problem". How much longer do we have to wait?

At that time the police did spend a morning with a speed camera (in full view of the dale) and I believe that the recorded highest speed was 54mph! Which was no surprise at all.

It seems a very strange thing that when we "country dwellers" use the roads in the cities and towns we are constantly under the eye of the speed camera, and need to abide by the law and speed restrictions, and yet these same motorists seem to think that when they enter the country road systems, they are free to open up at any cost to local people!

I must stress that this is not only the motorcyclists but also all road users; the "white van brigade" have become equally as dangerous.

We have the school bus collecting children at 8.25am and even then the commuters have no respect or concern for the bus or children, with no reduction in speed whatsoever, treating them with no concern, it is really alarming.

We ask and get little in the country for our high rates, but has the time come to do something and avoiding more bodies on our roads and lanes?

Richard and Ann Emmitt, Fancart House, Greenhow.

No planning

SIR I feel the Royal British Legion Skipton Branch has to respond to the article in last week's Craven Herald regarding the excuse from Coun Carl Lis on the lack of action to the first Veterans Day.

I would like to put the record straight. Craven District and the Town Councils knew about the Veterans Day celebrations. The minister responsible for the celebration wrote to local authorities and held seminars in all areas of the country to help explain what form the celebration would take and of course how to get funding for the event.

Skipton Town Council should have made contact with Craven District to give them the timing for the veterans' parade in Skipton, also the government gave Veterans Day publicity on TV and in the press.

So for Coun Lis to say that the council did not know about the celebration of Veterans Day until a few days before, is not acceptable to our veterans.

No councillors from any council were on parade in Skipton for our veterans service.

May I remind readers that Veterans Day is to celebrate and remember all the servicemen and women that have served in HM Armed Services, they are all veterans. Next year we will have our Veterans Day on a Sunday and will be organised by the branch with council's help we hope.

Alex Bentley, Chairman, Skipton Branch, Royal British Legion.

Meeting a need

SIR I do not want to get embroiled in the charity shop debate but I think clarification of one or two points is necessary.

Firstly, every business in Skipton pays hefty council charges and if charity shops need extra wheelie bins in addition to the standard business allocation they are charged accordingly. They also pay for any extra collections (this will include VAT) they might require. It is not free.

Secondly, isn't it far better to see fully used premises on the High Street as opposed to empty, forlorn looking one.

Most of the charity shops in Skipton are clean, bright, friendly places where people get the old corner shop-type service, they are manned by local people (not just "old ladies"), people who have worked hard all their lives and feel they want to give something back, they are stocked and supported by local people. People who can't work in the shops help by donating and buying from them.

They also help young people who are working towards things like NVQ and Duke of Edinburgh awards, people with learning disabilities also work these outlets. Some charity shops also have a small workforce who are paid a wage, so less people on the dole. Good causes trying to do a good job, most of them benefiting the local and national community.

Let's face facts, there is a call for charity shops. Perhaps if the government of this country managed our hard earned cash more productively and less self serving, charity shops and indeed charity full stop would not be needed at all. Then what would be the next thing for the critics of charity shops to moan about?

Ms H Walker, Arches Bungalow, Bolton Abbey.

Hard workers

SIR I was very excited to see Craven Housing were going to make one of their priorities community projects, but I cannot let Mr Bolton's opening statement go ahead without comment.

Mr Bolton says that the Sunday lunch club is just one project being spearheaded by Craven Housing. This project has been up and running for a few years now, before Craven Housing came into place.

It was an idea put forward by the probation service in consultation with the residents group and the Friday night bingo group. The bingo group had been fundraising for years before the community centre had been built, it was their funds that paid for a state of the art cooker for the project.

The youth groups and the crche originated in a flat on Rombalds Drive and was run totally by volunteers. Granted there have been vast improvements to bring the groups up to date and they now have paid workers.

While I think it is commendable that Craven Housing has continued to support the projects I think we mustn't forget all who have helped get them off the ground: Greatwood and Horseclose Residents Groups past and present, Friday night bingo club, social services, Craven District Council, Skipton Town Council, Craven College, Tyro, Craven Housing, past and present volunteers, not to mention the residents of Greatwood and Horseclose, without their continued support the projects would have been non-starters. I just want to give credit where credit is due and wish all the projects future success.

Frances Wnuk, Skipton.

True Yorkshireman

SIR I think I speak for all supporters of Unite Craven in saying how sad we are to lose our president, Freddie Trueman. His support for our group started with his unveiling of our first county boundary sign in 1998, when he gladly agreed to become our president.

He felt strongly that Government should not meddle with the great traditional counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire. The people of West Craven and Bowland still feel betrayed at losing their Yorkshire status.

Freddie Trueman was their hero and we were very proud to have his support.

Geoff Hoyle, Burnside Crescent, Skipton.