Something has to be done to stop this. Social Services always tends to hide behind red tape and produce the same old lame excuses. It is not good enough.

I still carry the scars and nightmares of being in foster care, 59 years on.

I was fortunate that I was about nine-years-old and had the strength and courage to run away from the foster home that caused these nightmares. If not, I could have been a tragic victim.

Every time I shave, I see the scar of the bread knife in my face. When I go to sleep I remember roaming the streets, scrounging for food. I was found by people who knew me and loved me.

I could add more but this is not about me — it is about childcare in this country. I have experienced its failings and it is still not any better today.

It is time to get back to basics and understand why social workers exist. It is not just to pick up a nice salary, it is to look out for the vulnerable and try to assist them with whatever means they have at their disposal.

Let Baby Brandon be the last. No more deaths and no more excuses. — Tumbleweed.

As a born and bred Dundonian, and someone who has been a Labour supporter all my life, I have seen all sorts of people represent my city as councillors in the last 35 years — some good, some bad and some indifferent.

The reports in the Tele prompted me to read this report on the SHR website as I found it difficult to believe that it could be as bad as it is being portrayed. Unfortunately, it is much worse and in turn, this makes the attempts by Councillors Keenan and Regan to try to deflect the criticism away from themselves shameful.

Unfortunately, Councillors Keenan and Regan do not seem to be able to accept constructive criticism or realise that their roles are to work towards improving the lot of Dundee’s citizens. — Concerned for Democracy in Dundee.

Incredibly, Councillor Regan merely considers there to be “room for improvement” and disputes the findings of the report without explanation. It remains to be seen whether the council has the ability to address the major issues identified in the report. Councillor Regan’s reaction provides little hope. — George Will, Shaftesbury Road, Dundee.

Firstly, if Hillcrest wanted to be environmentally friendly, why a new build? Why not recycle an older building or buy one of the many newer office buildings that have been up for sale for a long time? And secondly, they could use the £5.3 million building cost to upgrade their properties.

Hillcrest have always banged on about affordable housing, but nearly every property has storage heating, which is the most expensive to run and the cheapest to install. — Frost-Bitten.

In May 2003, I forgot to renew my licence due to ill health. Because of the Licensing Committee’s summer recess it was September before I was able to operate my taxi again, but as private hire.

The council decided my car was no longer suitable to be a yellow plate taxi despite it operating with this type of licence until May 2003, when I forgot to renew my licence.

I have since tried on two occasions to get my yellow plate back.

I have a medical condition with my knee but this did not prevent me from accepting wheelchair passengers as my car has a remote electric winch, which pulls the passenger in his wheelchair into the vehicle.

Private hire licence means I no longer have to accept wheelchair-bound passengers, due to licensing regulations, which are down to the Licensing Committee.

I always willingly accepted jobs from my office for wheelchair-bound passengers, but due to the Licensing Committee’s stance, disabled passengers in the city have lost a willing driver and vehicle, which now isn’t being operated to its full potential.

I attended a recent Licensing Committee meeting to put my case for my vehicle having its yellow plate reinstated, but this was turned down.

I asked Convener John Letford after the decision if I may ask a few questions on the decision.

His response was, “No”. So much for democracy. — J. P.

They are free in Wales, and will also be free in Scotland and Northern Ireland by 2011.

England should get free prescriptions too. — Dryburgh Reader.

I’ve witnessed people doing what appears to be 50mph or more.

Children crossing the road and people going in and out of their driveways encounter near misses every day, yet I have never seen the police with a speed camera there, even though I have told them about this problem.

Do we really have to wait until there is an accident before something is done? — M. J. Knight.

As they have decided not to go ahead with the Local Income Tax, it suggests many SNP MSPs were elected under false pretences. — B. Adamson, Dundee.

Some of them are huge and trying to avoid them is like driving along a slalom course. It’s a disgrace. — D. B1.

She is very timid. There is a reward if she is found. Telephone 07852 687478. — Reader.

With the success of The View, that attention has gone from national to global.

Who supported The View in the band’s early days? It was the The Doghouse.

If it wasn’t for that pub, who knows how different the story could have been? Sara, Jonathan and the rest of the staff at The Doghouse have helped make Dundee an important cultural centre not just in Scotland but the entire United Kingdom.

The Doghouse is to unsigned music what the DCA is to contemporary art. It is as important to Dundee’s cultural identity as the water that floats the Discovery.

It is not just music but art and modern dance that are encouraged by The Doghouse.

How can it be that our councillors see it fit to take legal action against a small business that punches well above its weight when bringing great music to the city, while at the same time nurturing Dundee’s own talent?

How can the council justify what they have done, especially in this economic climate?

At a time when billions are being thrown at huge banks to keep them from going under, how can the local authority be allowed to trample all over such an important part of modern Dundonian culture?

It seems the council are more interested in clawing back a small sum of unpaid business rates than the future of Dundee’s cultural heritage.

It’s time Dundee City Council did something to help places like The Doghouse in these difficult times.

This is certainly not the last they will hear from an outraged public. — Disheartened Music Lover.

I had to openly laugh when I walked past the Caird Hall last week and a huge banner said, “Dundee welcomes the Labour Party Conference”.

I am sure with decisions like the one pertaining to The Doghouse, Dundee will think twice about welcoming Labour in the future, due to the party’s role in the administration, which has made this decision.

Also statements from the council in response seem to always come from a “spokesperson”.

The heads of local and national government departments should be named and have to full responsibility for the decisions they take.

They are public servants and should be treated as such. — David Birse.

The Doghouse is the best venue in Dundee for local bands to get a foot in the door of the music business, including the likes of Luva Anna, The View and many more.

We, along with dozens of bands and musicians, are doing everything we can to save The Doghouse and get it open again.

Go to http://www.bebo.com/bringbackthedoghouse

The Doghouse is not only a live venue, to some people it is a second home.

We were supposed to be headlining there on March 27. The council are not going the right way to get local support. — Jamie (on behalf of The Goodnights).

I’m looking at arranging a fundraising festival with the aim of having it reopen.

A few people have said that it’s a hopeless cause but with the backing of the town’s music lovers I personally can’t see why we can’t have this festival and save The Doghouse. — Chris McDonald (Lochee based music lover).