REGARDING the proposals for schools to set their own holiday dates, has anybody considered the effect this will have on the service industry?

We employ just over 50 people, which includes engineers on the road and office staff – men and women, many of which have children and quite a few who have school-age children.

So many require the same weeks off during holiday periods, especially the summer holidays.

While we try to accommodate requests we still have to provide a full service to our clients.

With shorter holidays there will be more demand for the fewer holiday weeks over the summer.

People with children at different schools with different holiday periods will have to take at least one child out of school during term time for a family holiday.

This is before you consider the problem of firms maintaining staffing levels in holiday periods.

CHRIS MANSFIELD, Hamble.