Alan Calvert made a very interesting point in his column “Get down the local or lose it!” (November 3).

He pointed out that the traditional local pub is in danger of becoming a thing of the past and, if we want to see the local survive, we should perhaps frequent it a little more often than we might otherwise do.

Now I can vouch that Alan is indeed an expert on pubs and, true to form, he’s certainly doing his bit to keep our local pub solvent. But it is not just pubs that are in danger.

Small, locally-owned businesses up and down the country are also in danger. They are by far the biggest employer in the country and they pay more than their fair share of tax.

Large national and multinational companies are able to hire the best accountants and specialist tax lawyers to substantially reduce their tax liabilities. Small businesses cannot and are clobbered mercilessly with petty rules and regulations, and expensive bureaucratic red tape, which they can ill afford.

The government was all too eager to use hard working taxpayer’s money to bail out the banks, but it has done absolutely nothing at all to help the many small businesses that are struggling and in serious danger of folding.

However, this is where we, the public, can do our bit to help.

As Alan suggested with the local pub, we could help local businesses by patronising them a little more often.

For example, instead of shopping at some of the glitzy new shopping centres, perhaps a trip to the local market or high street, where most of the businesses are small, independent traders, would help.

If we stop for coffee or a bite to eat we could select a locally-owned café instead of one of the chain of coffee shops or restaurants. It wouldn’t take much of an effort — just a little forethought. Who knows, we might well save some money too.

Stuart A Chapman, Patterdale Road, Harwood