Interactive: Watering down fire service is too dangerous to consider

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Evening News, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, EH8 8AS

HOW sad it was to read that fire chiefs are faced with having to make 5 million of cutbacks in the Lothians (News, 21 January).

It is bad enough that vital services such as education will be trimmed down in an effort to fill the council's financial "black hole", but the fire service is a step too far.

Cutting back on an emergency service goes beyond reason – and could make the difference between life and death.

The pages of the News frequently have stories about chip pan fires and other accidental blazes, so there is clearly plenty of work and Lothian and Borders fire crews must be fully staffed to deal with all possible emergencies.

And some people seem to have forgotten it was only a few years ago Edinburgh's firefighters had their biggest challenge, battling against the blaze which threatened to consume the Old Town.

Your report indicates attempts will be made to make cutbacks in areas such as the fire control room and back office functions possibly being shared with police or ambulance. However, a report to be discussed by the fire board warns of a "potentially direct service impact."

Further, the union official Andy Fulton said the cuts "do not come anywhere close to meeting the level of savings that is likely to be required".

That is very worrying indeed. The Fire Service is there to save and preserve lives. There must be absolutely no compromise for the sake of saving money.

Neil Lewis, Dalry Road, Edinburgh

Festival city needs revamped King's

I THINK it is more than worth having money spent on the refurbishment of the King's Theatre (News, January 14).

Edinburgh after all is known the world over for being the festival city, so would its reputation not suffer if such a great building was neglected or left to the whims and desires of those who had no real interest in the arts? I'm sure the funds must be available if the council can afford to, on an annual basis, spend vast sums on firework displays which, though spectacular and colourful, are over in a matter of minutes.

Angus McGregor, Albion Road, Edinburgh

Make attendance of MPs compulsory

WHAT is happening to our parliament and our MPs, and are they really representing the constituents who elected them?

I watched our MPs debating the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill in parliament, which most people would consider to be important in any democracy. The members of parliament that were taking part in the debate – and there were not a lot of them – accused our government of guillotining the bills that were being debated and rushing through new legislation without the proper checks and balances that there should be.

According to the MPs who were in the debate, legislation for our country was being tailor-made for the cabinet and rushed through without the proper consultation and discussion that should be allowed in our parliament.

It was stated this was why our MPs no longer bothered attending the debates in our parliament.

Why are our parliamentarians not duty-bound to attend the debates that are about the way we are governed?

Is our parliament not starting to fail the electorate of this country by doing this and does this not make it possible for any future government to ignore the electorate altogether if they wish to?

Andrew Murphy, Royal Mile, Edinburgh

Cigarette machines should be banned

I'VE just written to my MSP about British Heart Foundation Scotland's vital campaign for a total ban on cigarette vending machines. Can you imagine a situation where alcohol, fireworks, knives or other age restricted products were sold widely in vending machines? Cigarettes should be no different. We need to tackle this anomaly which allows children an easy way get hold of cigarettes.

The Tobacco and Primary Medical Services Bill, currently going through the Scottish Parliament, includes a total ban on these machines. I've urged our local MSPs to vote for a ban, rather than amendments that might water down the Bill.

Jane Martin, Henderson Terrace, Edinburgh