£100k event was essential for SE

I READ with some concern your article on Scottish Enterprise and its spend of £100,000 on an event to bring all its staff together (News, 21 February).

Two major indictments of many parts of the public sector are, first, that they fail to invest in training and secondly, that they don't speak to one another. Given the size of the organisation and the importance in recession of effective economic development, the investment seems a small price to pay.

The article also talked about the effectiveness of smaller group training and failed to recognise the total cost of such activities could easily exceed the costs envisaged here.

I was particularly concerned the article suggested flying international representatives home was unduly expensive. Codswallop. It is essential for international operations to have coherence and for staff to be aligned with their home support.

Douglas Robertson, Newcastle upon Tyne