AM I the only one who felt that a protégée of Sir Humphrey Appleby of “Yes Minister” fame must have drafted Mrs Mulligan’s explanation for the benefits of her taking over control of both the police and the fire brigade as produced in your paper (D&S Times, June 23).

Phrases such as “one overarching strategy”; “one governance mechanism” and “accountable oversight and strategic direction” are basically just political jargon that would have flowed so easily from Sir Humphrey, via pen or mouth. Such comments are simply designed to overawe the average person and thereby inhibit them from passing comment for fear of ridicule.

Her comments give no evidence of tangible benefits to either organisation. Her plan could actually be interpreted as three people who know very little about each other’s business sitting in a room together and making decisions that impact upon all of them. The only thing that these organisations really have in common is that they are funded by the public purse and as such will always be in competition for those funds. If combining the management of publicly funded bodies is the way to improve everything then why not include the county council?

I suspect that they are the largest publicly-funded body in the county and could much more cost effectively subsume the management and control of the police and fire service. If this was done then we could make real savings by doing away with the costs of crime commissioners and their staff.

I put that forward as a brilliant new idea – as most people who know that that is exactly how it used to be run will have had the decency to die out by now.

No, the only real benefit to Mrs Mulligan’s plan is that it will no doubt raise her status, promote her political ambitions and presumably provide an enhanced financial package for her. No doubt all to be gone through again when it is suggested that the ambulance service should also come under this umbrella – then we would have four people sitting in a room making decision about subjects they know very little All publicly funded bodies can, and should, work as close together as they can. There are certainly benefits that can still be obtained from such collaboration but I do not see Mrs Mulligan’s plan as the best way to achieve these benefits.

John Hutchinson, Brompton-on-Swale