The Government’s counterintuitive approach to house-building

Plus: Huw Edwards and the BBC; GPs take action; Labour’s pensioner squeeze; silly sports commentary; and the best way to open champagne

SIR – Had I voted Labour, I would have hoped that the party would consider the matter of housing through the prism of common sense. 
Has nobody suggested to Angela Rayner, the Housing Secretary, that building more homes in places where demand for them is robust – such as London, which has had its targets reduced (report, July 31) – might be a good start?
Mike KayeLincoln
SIR – You report (August 1) that “Tory councils’ house-building targets have been increased by six times more than Labour ones”. 
I do not know why anyone is surprised by what Labour is doing. I have lived through a few Labour governments, so knew what to expect. This is simple class warfare.
David CarterWorcester
SIR – Labour keeps talking about all these new homes it is going to build, but governments do not build houses – house-builders do.
However, with the latest regulations – the policy of requiring builders to make any development about 40 per cent affordable housing, a community infrastructure charge and the obligation to provide a local authority-defined “benefit” – there are few incentives to encourage builders to take on developments.
Angela Rayner’s plans are just what one would expect of a politician, showing little knowledge of the economics and planning requirements around the construction of houses. 
Ian YuleLondon SW1
SIR – It is time we had an audit of all the land held by developers in land banks. This could be carried out by local authorities. 
They should be compelled to either start building without delay or sell, with the planning consent, to a builder ready to begin work within a short period of time.
Mike MartindaleKirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria
SIR – The Government’s proposals to meet increased demand for housing should include the mandatory incorporation of photovoltaic panels in all new builds, thus reducing the need for Ed Miliband to jeopardise this country’s food security by covering good agricultural land with solar farms.
A N WilsonStamfordham, Northumberland
SIR – Roger White (Letters, August 1) blames architects for the poor designs of housing developers.
However, these developers almost never use architects, but instead rely on untrained technicians to carry out their design work – hence the low standard of most developments.
Lynn DavisDeal, Kent
 
SIR – In my view the BBC cannot be blamed for continuing to pay Huw Edwards while he was under investigation (report, August 1).
Had he been sacked and then found innocent, he would have had a clear case for unfair dismissal, which could have cost the corporation millions of pounds. The principle of “innocent until proven guilty” must prevail.
What I find staggering, however, is the salary that the BBC is prepared to pay someone for reading an autocue.
Terry LloydDerby
SIR – The Huw Edwards scandal has demonstrated again what a profligate and self-serving organisation the BBC has become. Lord Reith must be turning in his grave. 
I am cancelling my TV licence, and will go elsewhere for my entertainment and news.
Roy HodgsonLittle Brington, Northamptonshire
SIR – Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, is going to face challenges in attempting to negotiate with the British Medical Association (“GPs vote to take industrial action”, telegraph.co.uk, August 1). 
What used to be a professional body looks increasingly like a hard-Left organisation. Patients, and particularly the elderly, will rightly be worried about the implications of this. The BMA may say that its action is against the Government, but such action always disadvantages patients – and will only harm GPs’ reputation further.
Dr Robert WalkerWorkington, Cumbria
SIR – GPs are to put a cap on their appointments. Will anybody notice?
Dr Patsy CostiganSidmouth, Devon
 
SIR – Isabel Oakeshott’s article on HMRC (Features, July 31) struck a chord.
After my wife completed her self-assessment in May, she was told she didn’t have anything to pay.Then, in mid-June, she was told that she owed more than £1,300, to be paid by July 31. This sum represents more than her total monthly income from pensions (state and private), and was described as a “payment on account”.
To compound the situation, when I tried to make payment via “faster payments”, the system said the bank sort code could not be verified. I warily continued with the transaction, only to be told that the account could not accept such payments, and I would have to pay via cash or cheque, or pay a £25 fee for Chaps.
A letter of complaint to HMRC has yet to be acknowledged.
Keith AppleyardWest Wickham, Kent
 
SIR – May I suggest that the Lada is added to the list of “thief-proof” cars (Letters, August 1)?
I remember a colleague, who, in the 1970s, would buy a new Lada every three years. It was never locked, never cleaned and never stolen. He believed it was only a full tank of petrol that gave the car any value.
David RumseyPinner, Middlesex
SIR – When the floor under the passenger seat of our Mini rusted through in the 1960s, we used a roasting tin to cover the gap. 
Alyson PerssonHenfield, West Sussex
SIR – As a senior citizen and member of the “lucky generation”, who has enjoyed full employment and has an occupational and a state pension, I cannot argue with the Chancellor’s decision to means-test the winter fuel allowance (Letters, August 1).
However, Rachel Reeves should be careful about targeting us old ’uns further. 
In pubs, restaurants, cafés and other places, many of us are spenders aiding the economy – often to the benefit of young workers.
Peter TozerHinchley Wood, Surrey 
SIR – Rachel Reeves has insisted that Labour will not balance the books on the backs of hardworking people. 
She has defined a working person as “someone who goes out to work for their income”. 
Exactly what does she think that I, and several million other people, did for more than 50 years?
Jane GroganSunninghill, Berkshire
SIR – Dr David Yates (Letters, August 1) asserts that some British pensioners living in Spain use the winter fuel allowance to cover their summer air-conditioning costs. 
Those of us living in Spain know that this allowance was discontinued several years ago.
Lionel AndersonPeñíscola, Castellon, Spain
 
SIR – I, too, often resort to the mute button while watching sports events (Letters, July 31). 
However, this does mean missing out on the nonsense frequently spouted by the commentators. In recent days I have heard: “He [the batsman] has taken the bait”, whereupon the said batsman whacked a six; “the humidity is getting warmer”; and “if you are going to bowl a slower ball just make sure nothing gets slower”.
Tony PalframanDisley, Cheshire
 
SIR – My husband is an avid collector of tools, and, like Angela Lanyon (Letters, August 1), we have a range of appliances in our cutlery drawer. 
The best one is a pair of 1930s gas pliers, which are indispensable for loosening the cork on a bottle of champagne. 
Maggie RaynerNeston, Wiltshire
 
SIR – I am hugely disappointed by Labour’s cancellation of the tunnel under Stonehenge (Letters, August 1). Of course, many motorists delight in the view of the monument from the A303 – but this has been a cause of hold-ups or accidents on that stretch.
Not only would the tunnel have alleviated delays on one of the main routes to the South West, but the local villages – which become swamped with traffic trying to avoid the problems in the area – would also have benefited hugely.
I remember a similar situation at Hindhead when the A3 ran round the Devil’s Punch Bowl. After many years the tunnel was built and the whole area has been transformed.
Margaret ForbesLondon E1
SIR – Once again it is locals and A303 users who will suffer as a result of the latest cancellation of a plan to get traffic moving in this area. Since the early 1980s – and for half my life – there have been countless feasibility studies, planning reviews, public consultations, scheme adoptions and scheme abandonments. Nothing has been achieved. I wonder how much money has been spent.
Simon FalknerSouth Barrow, Somerset
 
SIR – Congratulations to Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, whose imposition of VAT on independent school fees will alienate tens of thousands of families as they struggle with the disruption of their children’s education in the middle of the academic year (Letters, August 31). 
The long-term damage to a whole generation of pupils, so soon after Covid lockdown, will not be forgotten. This move will be seen as doctrinal, and I doubt any of those affected will vote Labour for the rest of their lives.
Michael AllisstoneChichester, West Sussex
SIR – Our country’s secondary schools grow ever bigger while the number of children with attendance problems rises; schools of 2,000-plus pupils are ill-equipped to support those with crippling anxiety, mental-health problems and other special needs. 
The majority of independent schools have fewer than 270 pupils and provide an essential local service for such children and their families, reducing pressure on the state system. Adding VAT to parents’ costs will lead them to apply for Education, Health and Care plans to secure local authority payment of their school fees. If this funding is not secured, pupils with highly complex support needs will return to state-maintained classrooms, affecting all children.
Jonathan HetheringtonHead, More House SchoolFarnham, Hampshire
 
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