EARLIER this year Edinburgh Council decided in its "wisdom'' to put up all care packages for supporting people at home up for competitive tender.
They assured that all those affected by this would be fully consulted and involved in the process; in reality less then 5 per cent of people were consulted.
Individuals and relevant organisations that offered them support were obviously very conc
erned about what the outcome might be, as the majority of people were very happy with their current care providers, having spent years developing relationships, building trust and gaining new life skills and independence.
Those concerned invited members of the council to attend a conference in early April this year to discuss the situation. The council refused. They then asked to be heard at full council meeting at the end of April; initially this was agreed but then on the day before the meeting, they were refused access under some obscure standing order.
As the situations stands, the council intends to go ahead with the current tenders. If this is allowed to happen then for the majority of individuals it means that come the New Year they will have no choice, but will have to endure being placed with a new care provider, in my opinion denying them their basic human right of being able to be heard, to choose and to live their lives as they wish.
Jude Hill, North Junction Street, Leith, Edinburgh Mary instrumental in enriching livesYOUR excellent piece paying tribute to the enormous contribution that Mary McGookin has made to local government and the arts in the Edinburgh area (News, 5 November) has set my memory into overdrive as I recall so many special events which she has been instrumental in organising, which have enriched all our lives.
She is much too young to retire, that's for sure, but her contribution is one which should never be forgotten.
Perhaps the most successful single event that I can recall in my many years of service was the occasion when the Lothian Lecture was arranged in conjunction with the University of Edinburgh, when the then-President of the National Party in South Africa, FW de Klerk, was introduced to Denis Goldberg, the only white man who was sentenced alongside Nelson Mandela to life imprisonment at the Rivonia Trial.
A packed Playfair Gallery enjoyed a programme of African dance and a piece of music specially commissioned for the occasion to convey the sounds of Africa was performed.
Black African students in their academic gowns welcomed de Clerk to the university and before he delivered his address the tears of emotion streamed down his face.
Those who were present that evening will never forget the emotions that were generated and the person who orchestrated that event on behalf of Lothian Regional Council was one Mary McGookin.
Councillor Eric MilliganScheme reduces risk of reoffendingI AM writing in response to your article entitled "Jail storytelling sessions paid for by Edinburgh council taxpayers" (News, 31 October).
As your article stated, the scheme is designed to improve literacy amongst prisoners.
About 60 per cent of people in prison have difficulty with literacy and numeracy. This is often a reason behind their offending and a risk for further offending.
The scheme is about much more than prisoners, however: engagement with families reduces reoffending by up to six times.
Further, it reduces the risk of future offending by prisoners' children – a group at higher risk of offending due to their personal circumstances and due to the impact of their family member's imprisonment.
The council is best placed to fund such programmes, because these initiatives are about more than just the prisoner. They are about the families imprisonment affects and about the community in which they live and to which prisoners return.
All of us are responsible for preventing future offending. We are also responsible for mitigating the impact of imprisonment on the children and families of prisoners, who are not guilty of any crime.
Dr Nancy Loucks, Chief Executive, Families Outside, Great King Street, EdinburghGaping holes in tram works targetWITH reference to the tram farce currently imploding our once fair city I find it hard to believe that Princes Street will be "handed over" to the council by the end of November.
Having on Thursday somehow navigated my way around the debacle on Princes Street that has more cavities than a chocoholic's mouth, I would estimate a completion date of near to the end of January.
Karen Miele, Willowbrae, Edinburgh