Districts silent on their two-tier argument.

The District Councils of County Durham agree that unitary local government would improve the quality of life in County Durham." That was their stated view in January, but since their proposals were rejected for being unrealistic and unworkable, they are now campaigning to retain the two-tier system.

The districts have been vocal in their criticism of the single unitary council proposal under consideration, but have not uttered one word about how they would improve the two-tier system.

They have not said how they would match the considerable cost savings of pounds 21m per year which could be achieved through unitary reorganisation.

They have not said how they would match the major investment in improved services, better representation and local decision making which this could afford.

They have not set out any proposals for how they would improve local democracy or the strategic leadership of our area, so that County Durham is not overlooked in a region dominated by big towns and cities.

And given that they are polling local people on whether they want to retain and improve two-tier or see a single unitary council for the area, how do they expect people to decide if they only present arguments against one option and say nothing about the other?

Local people deserve better than this and I encourage people to let the districts know what they think.

COUN Albert Nugent, Leader, Durham County Council, County Hall, Durham

Problem much worse than stated in report

YOUR article about the Child Support Agency's campaign to make parents meet their maintenance responsibilities (The Journal, May 22), quotes me as saying that there are over 1,800 parents in Newcastle who are failing their children in this way.

In fact the problem is much worse than that: there are over 18,000 parents who between them owe more than pounds 50m. That's why the CSA is mounting the campaign and warning those parents to act now. Or we will.

ANDY COLLINS, Department of Work and Pensions Regional Press Office, Room 317, New Croft House, Market Street East, Newcastle

Nexus moves to improve transport

NEXUS is investing in ways to improve public transport links in Washington, although there are no plans for a Metro extension to Washington, as your correspondent David S Myles suggests ("Benefit of extending Metro to Washington", Voice of the North, May 23).

We looked at the possibility of a Metro route through Washington when we were planning the Metro to Sunderland, but it was not financially viable, given the high construction costs.

There are three important things we are doing in Washington:

* We're working with Prudential to develop a pounds 2m plan to replace the Galleries bus station with a modern facility;

* We and several local authorities have commissioned a study into reopening the mothballed Leamside railway line to all kinds of traffic, including local trains into and out of Newcastle;

* We have plans in place to provide much better bus services in and out of Washington through building priority routes in the coming years.

HUW LEWIS, Head of Media and External Affairs, Nexus, Nexus House, 33 St James' Boulevard, Newcastle

Origins of the term 'Mackem' sought

ALIFELONG Sunderland fan has written to me from his home in Perth, Australia, to see if I can find out for him the origins of the word "Mackem": who coined it, when it first entered common usage and whether supporters at the Stadium of Light are proud to be known as Mackems or if it is a derogatory term used only by Newcastle fans.

My friend emigrated to Oz in 1969 and the name wasn't in existence then, he says. Does any Journal reader know?

FRANK DOBSON, Morpeth, Northumberland

No definitive answer to global warming cause

DEREK Robertson (Voice of the North, May 22) in reply to my letter, states, "there is no evidence that the Sun is heating up (I didn't claim it was) or that the solar radiation received on Earth has increased over the last few decades . . . Nasa can't detect increasing solar radiation".

Dr Richard Mewaldt of the California Institute of Technology, a co-investigator on Nasa's Advanced Composition Explorer spacecraft, refers to "the most intense burst of solar radiation in five decades accompanied by a large solar flare shaking space weather theory" and states that "this flare produced the largest solar radiation signal on the ground in nearly 50 years. We were surprised how fast the particles arrived on Earth".

So much for Nasa being unable to detect increased solar radiation (the above paragraph was gleaned from their own website and refers to an incident on May 24, 2005).

If Mr Robertson prefers the rant of a newspaper columnist in preference to the empirically peer reviewed research of scientists, that is his choice, but I, a simple country peasant, have no wish to follow his example. If the measurement of the temperature of other planets is beyond the capability of Nasa, are the often quoted figures just an approximation?

Thirty-six people died in 1952 when a flood devastated the Devon village of Lynmouth, a freak flood reported the press. In 2004, a thunderstorm caused great damage in Boscastle; global warming proclaimed the media. When April was revealed to be the warmest April since 1916, some said this was the result of global warming. Could anyone advise me what was the reason for the 1916 event?

The truth is there is no definitive answer to the cause of global warming. I just happen to believe that as the climate has varied continuously over thousands of years, the natural cause is the more plausible.

Mr Robertson asked me for my sources. With the indulgence of the editor and readers, here is just a small sample: Hammel and Lockwood: Geophysical Research Letters; Beer, Vonmoos and Muschelar: Space Science Reviews; Scafetta and West: Geophysical Research Letters; R L Juckett and Rosenburg: Radiation Research; Usokin et al: Journal of Geophysical Research; Solar Cycle Variability, Ozone and Climate; Shindell, Rind and Balachandran, Nasa Goddard Institute of Space Studies and Centre for Climate Research Columbia University: Science Vol. 284.

BILL RICALTON, Longhorsley, Northumberland

Double celebration that gladdened hearts

IWISH your columnist Keith Hann could have been at The Sage Gateshead on Sunday, May 20 when a capacity crowd celebrated 300 years of Methodism and the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery.

The singing was magnificent, including famous hymns and modern music, and the genuine enthusiasm and warmth of friendship and worship gladdened the hearts of all, both young and old, who were privileged to be present.

JEAN ANDERSON, Blyth, Northumberland

Weekend challenge to help autism services

THE National Autistic Society (NAS), the United Kingdom's leading charity for people with autism and their families and carers, is looking for women and men to take part in a weekend challenge fully supported by ex-Special Forces instructors to raise money for people with autism.

Participants will have the chance to escape from their everyday lives into the beautiful countryside around Penrith in Cumbria from June 8 to 10. Anyone over 18 can take part as long as they are relatively fit and healthy. People can enter either individually or as a team of five.

They will get the opportunity to learn skills such as: survival techniques, navigation, camouflage and concealment, night exercise, and escape and evasion As my colleague Alison Shersby, NAS head of regional fundraising, said, this is an exciting opportunity for people to take part in an adventurous weekend challenge and at the same time raise money for vital NAS services which make so much difference to the lives of people with autism and their families and carers.

It is also an ideal event for corporate team building and can give individuals the chance to build their confidence whilst having fun at the same time. Participants must raise a minimum sponsorship of pounds 375 per person. For more information please contact me at the telephone number or email address below.

CAROLYN BRADLEY, NAS Regional Fundraising Officer, c/o National Autistic Society, 393 City Road, London EC1V 1NG (tel: [phone]; email: [e-mail]; website: www.autism.org.uk/autismdirectory)

Big thank you to all who helped boost fair

ON behalf of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, I would like to say a big "thank you" to everyone who helped make the summer fair staged on May 19 at St Paul's Church such a resounding success.

Thanks to generous, warm-hearted people of all ages from in and around Whitley Bay, the event proved to be a real money-spinner and raised pounds 1,375 for the coffers of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust which aims to find a cure for a disease that attacks the lungs and digestive system. For further details about the work of the CF Trust, contact 0208 313 0472,

ROB STEWART, Whitley Bay, North Tyneside

Where do our MPs stand on metric?

THE whole of Britain is applauding Steve Thoburn and Neil Herron on the recent victory over the European Commission. Sadly Steve did not live to see this day.

The British public and many overseas supporters are elated, but why should it come to this? We have 650 MPs representing us and yet it takes two ordinary blokes to take on the dictats of Brussels. This was to allow us to continue using measures we have used for hundreds of years. I think we should ask all 650 MPs where they stand on this whole issue, before we vote in the General Election.

GORDON TOMLINSON, Seaham, County Durham

Dismayed at use of valuable word space

IAM computer illiterate and intend to remain so, regarding the computer as the greatest time waster ever invented. I am therefore dismayed to see valuable column inches of the Voice of the North page on May 21 devoted to the repetition of soundbites by computer users hiding behind aliases.

PHILIP WARREN, Gosforth, Newcastle