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In my letter of the Examiner on May 2, headed ‘Questions behind Statistics’, personal income as a contribution to GDP growth of £728m (2011 to 2015) was transcribed as being a rise of £124m. The correct figure is only £24m. Very low compared to company income’s growth of £589m as a contribution.

To reiterate, these figures are significant to public finances as they rely on personal income to generate income tax receipts with company income contributing relatively little under the zero/10 regime.

I should also like to comment on Pete Christian’s letter regarding carbon emissions published on the same day.

I have often wondered how the Isle of Man plans to reduce carbon emissions by 80 per cent of 1990 levels by 2050, with little apparent initiative to begin doing so anytime soon.

If the new commitment is in fact to ‘contain’ emissions rather than reducing them, then inaction is explained.

It also seems to explain the policy of promoting fracking for gas in Manx waters while the rationale of considering onshore windfarms on the windy Isle of Man is left on the backburner.

C A Brown, Colby.

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CA Brown pointed out the imbalance in the island’s tax system and Pete Christian highlighted a concerning slippage of language in Tynwald’s approach to reducing carbon emissions (Letters, Examiner, May 2).

These are angles of vision on the same problem. I would like to offer another complementary perspective.

A recent talk discussed ‘Patterns of Need on the Isle of Man’.

Various agencies spoke. Last year the Salvation Army spent nearly £100,000 supporting nearly 3,000 people. Almost half of this (£40,000) went to a private company: Manx Gas.

Foodbank use has risen sharply. Housing Matters spoke about the increasing problems younger people face in accessing housing. They had contact with over 650 people in 2016. In the same year Graih, serving the homeless, saw a spike in the need for emergency overnight accommodation.

They had contact with 167 different individuals and served over 3,800 meals.

So on the one hand we have a ‘growing’ economy, where companies, particularly in the e-sector, make huge profits and pay little or no tax. On the other hand we have increasing food and fuel poverty, chronic problems with housing and a deep unwillingness to seriously address climate change.

Charities attempt to fill the widening gaps brought about by the absence of statutory services and, in the case of fuel, subsidise and further enrich private enterprise. Something is wrong.

Apart from being angry we should make no mistake about the reasons for this state of affairs.

They are the result of structures designed by political and social decisions. These structures work for the minority while the majority pay the price: locally and globally.

The status quo is a choice, and it can be changed by the choices that we make together about what sort of society we want to live in.

Michael Manning, Hilary Road, Douglas

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Forty years ago every airport or aerodrome in the British Isles had an aviation security section (AVSEC).

Nowadays, due to outsourcing to private security firms, only two sections remain – Northern Ireland with its obvious security concerns, and Ronaldsway, because of government inertia. Some years ago the then Chief Constable Mike Langdon was offered the prospect of taking over the section, but he declined for reasons which are not hard to fathom.

Not offered the chance to increase his force size to compensate, losing 5 per cent of it to airport duties proved an unenticing prospect.

Whilst Isle of Man Government were correct that there needed to be a full time police presence at the airport, their solution of farming out the entire aviation security to the police force was overkill

What is needed is for the four acting duty officers (ADOs), who have a sergeant rank, (currently down to three as one is on long term sick leave), to be replaced by a force of six regular police sergeants.

This would ensure a police presence during the day and night shifts, with men who have received firearms training; as an added bonus, police sergeants are actually paid less than the ADOs are.

The rest of the cohort, which comprises 12 to 16 airport constables, could be replaced by personnel from a private contractor, e.g. Resource.

This company are already responsible for the baggage handling and departure hall at Ronaldsway where they do an excellent job.

The implications of this would be several-fold.

On the one hand the police would be able to recruit six additional police sergeants who, in extremis, could serve outside the airport.

On the other hand, not having to pay for the salaries and pensions of 12 to 16 or airport constables, together with their attendant sick pay and holiday pay, would engender considerable savings: Resource staff enjoy none of these perks.

Senior management time spent attempting to manage the AVSEC section would also be saved. The caveat is that the replacement staff would have to receive additional training in field security and first aid.

It has been variously calculated that the annual savings would run to £2 million pounds circa.

As the aviation security section suffers from poor morale, unfitness and chronic absenteeism, the overall impact on staff quality should be negligible.

Fortunately for the AVSEC officers concerned, the dislocation of redundancy should be limited.

Some are close to retirement age, others could go and work in their own businesses, two recently did this. Others are careful ‘to keep their hand in’ by doing engineering, fire-fighting and plumbing on the side. No one knows when, or where, the axe will fall.

The airport recently lost one airline and made its loading bay workers redundant. If it is serious about reducing its losses, outsourcing aviation security would be the logical next step.

Dr Jonathan P Sless, Colby.