ANYONE who read Rachel Sills' article in The Citizen (June 28) headlined "Outrageous" would have to be completely stupid to fail to recognise Steve Pullan as being open to accusations of conflicts of interest.

Firstly, as the director of an organisation that brought in the Star Rating System I feel he should not have links with any organisation which completes the ratings.

As a board member he must recognise he may be seen as having a financial interest in the amount of business the company does.

Another major implication to consider is the recommending of homes by Social Services. This I submit leaves social workers open to accusations of favouritism and possible bribery. My understanding is that Lancashire social workers are not allowed to recommend homes for this very reason.

It is for the client or someone they nominate to visit the care home and assess if it is suitable for themselves or their friend/relative, assisted by any inspection reports available.

As far as Care Standards and the Care Standards Act, Social Services have an inspection team dedicated to maintaining care standards and address problems identified within care homes. Therefore the "gimmick" of "Star Rating" would seem totally unnecessary.

Star Rating has financial implications. I would ask anyone to compare the charges levied by the homes with high "Star Ratings" with others and they will see the majority do in fact charge more. They also receive a higher rate of fees from Social Services than homes that have not taken part in the scheme. Therefore to claim there are no financial implications linked to "Star Rating" is ludicrous.

Mr Hessey states that he has "no axe to grind". This would seem to be a joke as he is a board member alongside Steve Pullan. Therefore he has by implication a "financial axe to grind".

If I were a council tax payer in the Blackpool area I would be extremely concerned about the ethics of the involvement of anyone employed by the council being linked with a private company brought in to "star rate" homes recommended by the very organisation he or she worked for.

G E Kennedy, Sunderland Avenue,

Thornton-Cleveleys.