SIR – Chief executive Tony Reeves is quoted as saying (T&A, June 9): “The gap in leadership skills is huge. The present system is dysfunctional. The kind of creative skills needed to lead are not abundant in the public sector.”

Is he telling us that he and his fellows are less-than-competent to do their jobs? Surprise, surprise. How about each pound spent on consultants to ameliorate Council officers’ lack of skills being docked from their salaries?

Whoever formulated the phrase “to rethink the unthinkable” is certainly incompetent. Had they been thinking the unthinkable previously? An inability to use language clearly is an inability to think clearly.

How about £1,000 docked from top Council officers’ salaries for each incompetence in their linguistic expression?

Nicholas Bielby, Frizinghall Road, Bradford