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Letters - February 19
A jobs boost The report on the growing success of the 100 Apprenticeship Challenge is very encouraging (The Gazette, February 10).
Young people are very much in favour with the Government with a couple of new schemes which deserve plenty of publicity and which Blackpool Council are actively
supporting.
The Young Person's Guarantee came into force a fortnight ago.
Everyone between 18 and 24 who has been out of work for six months is entitled to a job or training with a personal adviser at Job Centre Plus giving detailed mentoring.
As part of the guarantee, the Government has recently launched The Future Jobs Fund with aim of creating 170,000 additional jobs for this age group.
The Enterprise Centre on Lytham Road has a big slice of this money and is offering local employers 6,500 to take on each extra unemployed young person.
These new jobs pay the minimum wage.
With the Conservatives promising to
reduce spending if they take power in May, this programme could be axed.
Everyone who can take advantage of the Young Person's Guarantee – employers and the unemployed – should find out now if it could help them.
Coun David Owen
Westcliffe Drive
Layton
No need for a litter of pups
Some dog owners think it is best for a bitch to have a litter of
puppies before being spayed.
There is no truth in this old wives tale. In fact, there are health advantages to spaying young.
Older bitches can still be safely spayed and it is medically recommended.
Some people believe a spayed bitch will become fat and bad tempered.
The cause of obesity is overfeeding and while it is true that neutered pets tend to gain weight more easily, it is not inevitable if they are correctly fed.
Like people, puppies have different personalities and the biggest influence on a dogs temperament is the owner and the way the dog is trained.
So, if you have a bitch and are not a registered breeder, please act responsibly and have her spayed to avoid her producing litter after litter of unwanted puppies.
Sadly, there are too many dogs and not enough homes for them all.
This is one way to avoid the problem getting worse.
Josephine Harwood
Moor Park Avenue
Bispham
Hunt ban working
This week marks five years since the cruelty of hunting with dogs was made illegal in this country. Five years on and more than 100 convictions show the Hunting Act is rock solid and working well.
Opponents of the Act will argue this is not the case but new figures show consistent support from the public in favour of keeping the ban. Polling conducted monthly over the last eight months by YouGov concluded that around two thirds of people approve of the ban. Far more people disagree with lifting the ban than those in favour of repeal.
This is legislation which is clearly workable and effective and five years on it is time to send a clear message to politicians who wish to repeal the Act that they must not go against the will of the vast majority of the public.
Those who support the hunting and killing of wild animals for sport need to accept that their barbaric pastime is over.
John Cooper
League Against Cruel Sports
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Weather for Blackpool
Wednesday 30 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: West
