Interactive: Targeting vulnerable will only make matters worse

With what could be a difficult winter for many not far away I think Britain as a whole needs to take a close look at itself and question the social direction in which it is heading.

What you essentially have in modern day Britain is the same Draconian social set up which has been in place for many centuries, in that you have the privileged, lucky few indulging in a luxurious life of Riley at the expense of the poor, the exploited and in general the repressed masses.

In a so-called civilized and democratic country of the 21st century this state of affairs is totally unacceptable but unless there is radical change I fear that this status quo will only get worse and the gap between the haves and have nots will get wider.

The coalition Government may only have been in power for a few months but already they have made abundantly clear who their targets are when it comes to the cuts and saving money - the poor, the vulnerable and any other social group whom they deem as a liability.

This policy of penalising those who can least afford it highlights more than anything else how little in the way of social progress has been made.

Angus McGregor, Albion Road, Edinburgh

Leading the way in pay dispute

Did your reporter get it wrong or were you misled by the Labour environment spokesperson in your article of September 21 (Dawe accused of a 'lack of leadership' in bin dispute, News, September 21)?

At the council meeting last Thursday, I said that at 08:15 the next morning I would be briefed on the recent ACAS mediation meeting between council officers and union officials that failed to resolve the refuse collectors' dispute.

That meeting duly took place. After it, I e-mailed all political group leaders in the council to inform them that the administration had provided the director of services for communities with our preferred course of action, which would be investigated and reported to the policy and strategy committee next week.

The Lib Dem/SNP administration has shown real leadership in dealing with an issue that the previous Labour administration failed to tackle over many years. Refuse collectors are not and cannot be immune from the council's legal and moral obligation to deliver on equal pay or from the administration's desire to ensure that we provide services for Edinburgh that are as effective, productive and efficient as possible. We estimate that there are savings of 800,000 a year to be made from getting rid of inefficient working practices.

Ironically, if refuse collectors agreed to the new modern working practices, their losses under the modernising pay proposals would be considerably less than if they continue to resist the introduction of more productive standards of working.

Councillor Jenny Dawe, leader, City of Edinburgh Council

Give us a fair share of power

ONE aspect of Nick Clegg's recent Liberal Democrat conference speech which has received little attention is his announcement that local authorities in England are to be granted new borrowing powers, aimed at driving local investment and economic growth.

While the Con Dem Government is therefore prepared to give more powers to local authorities south of the border, they are not prepared to extend this same right to Holyrood.

The need for Scotland to control the levers of economic growth has never been more urgent as we deal with swingeing cuts from London. And instead of pressing ahead with the unworkable fudge put forward in the Calman proposals, Nick Clegg needs to show some respect towards Scotland and give the Scottish Parliament financial responsibility.

Economists, civic society and business leaders all recognise that it is only full financial powers that will give the Scottish Parliament the ability to really support growth and to tailor the Scottish economy to the needs of the Scottish people.

Alex Orr, Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh