UK - Daily Echo - So pleased with Court Leet decision

So pleased with Court Leet decision
WITH respect to the fluoridation debate, it is obvious that the likes of Kevin McNamara and Olga Senior of the SHA attach great importance to the telephone survey, the 22 page report of the key findings being published shortly before the SHA made their decision.
Apart from the fact that I think there are a lot of dangers associated with telephone surveys, I think there are a couple of important issues raised by the survey.
1) From my knowledge of statistics I would question whether the sample is a
totally random one even if they think it is more representative. To ensure randomness stratified sampling is usually more effective than quota sampling.
2) There is no mention of how the issue of non-response is dealt with. This is an important issue in a lot of surveys
In the fluoride debate the SHA and the Southampton City Primary Care Trust both place a lot of emphasis on scientific arguments when discussing fluoridation, and certainly the design of a statistical sur-
vey is a science in itself. I certainly feel that despite the fact that the report uses plenty of diagrams to illustrate the conclusions that it comes to, that it asks more questions than it answers. I wonder whether the SHA board members asked any questions about the viability, or did they accept it at face value.
I am pleased with the result of the Court Leet, and hope that Southampton City Council carefully reconsider their decision.
MALCOLM CLARKE, Eastleigh.