Letters: Pigeon persecution shows our priorities are all wrong

I READ that there is to be a cull of pigeons at St Francis Primary School in Craigmillar (Pest control team swoops to cull primary school pigeons, News, February 3).

Is there no end to the persecution of these poor creatures? The council has blocked up their shelters and they have to seek somewhere else.

I know there are health risks associated with droppings, but if part of the problem is cleaning the buildings, then what about the constant vandalism, which costs thousands of pounds?

I phone the police regularly about such trouble and nothing is ever done.

Recently, near me, a bus shelter was smashed, but it has not been replaced.

Parents let their children run amok. Maybe we should concentrate on that problem and leave pigeons alone.

Name and address supplied

More on the menu than hypnotherapy

With reference to your article regarding our service on Monday February 7, 2011, while we are very grateful for the opportunity to promote our services to the Edinburgh community as a whole, this article missed the essence of what Health All Round hopes to provide.

Health All Round is a registered charity and voluntary sector agency that aims to support people living in Gorgie, Dalry and surrounding areas of Edinburgh. Using a holistic approach, we provide services focusing on physical, social and emotional wellbeing.

We are not a health clinic, but rather use a social model of health. We are able to provide a wide range of services because we involve our local community in all that we do - through volunteering, through consultation and by working together.

The article focused on our hypnotherapy and NLP service. This constitutes one of our smallest services and not, as the article seemed to indicate, our largest. We do not specialise in this service, it is part of a wide range of services that are offered. We feel fortunate to be able to offer a NLP/hypnotherapy service and we are able to do this thanks to the hard work of our single volunteer practitioner who gives us his time completely free of charge.

Additionally, Health All Round Community Health Project is funded by the council and NHS Lothian.

However, it is important to note that our services are not NHS Lothian services and NHS Lothian is not responsible for any aspect of these services.

Readers who wish to find out more should visit our website.

Claire Downs, Health All Round, Springwell House, Ardmillan Terrace, Edinburgh

Budget missed good opportunity

The Scottish budget deal agreed by MSPs this week is not the budget for recovery that the building industry has been crying out for. An additional 16 million for housing is welcome. But overall, capital investment still bears the brunt of public funding cuts.

MSPs had an opportunity to grasp the nettle on restructuring Scottish Water, which could have generated significant savings for re-investment.

Elsewhere, we are still faced with having to fund the 2 billion new Forth Crossing entirely through traditional capital investment. This will inevitably place an additional strain on other headings of capital expenditure at a time when those headings have already been significantly cut back.

Bold pledges were also made on the delivery of more modern apprenticeships.

However, such pledges ring somewhat hollow if we fail to invest in those industries, offering apprentices the greatest number of long-term employment opportunities. This week's deal is a real opportunity lost.

Michael Levack, chief executive, Scottish Building Federation, Edinburgh

A sign from a higher power?

HAVING written referring to help offered by the Bethany Trust (Interactive, February 10), it took me by surprise when I received an e-mail that evening from Bethany intimating participants and sponsors in their Big Sleepout 2011. Could this be coincidence, or divine intervention?

Donald Jack, Summerside Place, Leith