Killer dogs .sx THE agony of the six-year-old Bradford girl who has had four ribs broken and may be permanently scarred as a result of a horrific savaging by a pit bull terrier should shake Ministers out of their lethargy over dog control .sx The blame , of course , lies in the first place with the people who want to keep these dogs as so-called pets .sx The truth is that they are lethal weapons .sx But the Government is responsible for the fact that the law over dog control is in a mess .sx Nicholas Ridley , when Secretary for the Environment , abolished the dog licence because the fee had been left unchanged for so long that it was costing more to collect than it brought in .sx He and Mrs Thatcher opposed the alternative of modernising the dog licence , backed by a national computer register of owners and exemptions for special cases like guide dogs for the blind .sx The Home Secretary , Kenneth Baker , has produced a discussion paper on the control of dangerous breeds , suggesting owners could be forced to carry insurance , and magistrates should have more power to order dogs to be muzzled .sx But his proposals are too weak .sx The prospect of compensation is small consolation to someone who has already been savaged .sx We need a national dog register , financed by a licence fee , and tougher laws so that killer breeds are kept , if at all , under the same rules as wild animals .sx Gazza SPURS star Paul Gascoigne was 77 minutes away from the likelihood of becoming the richest footballer in Europe when he made his ill-judged tackle in Saturday's FA Cup final .sx He should have been signing for the Italian club Lazio today .sx Instead he is in a London Hospital reflecting the fact that he has blown pounds8 .sx 5 million with one reckless lunge .sx The tackle , against a Nottingham Forest defender , has caused more controversy than the match .sx There is no doubt that the tackle was late .sx But was it a professional foul ?sx The referee has rightly been criticised for not booking Gazza , and the general opinion is that the Spurs star has only himself to blame for his misfortune .sx No doubt he will tell all when he emerges .sx But whatever he says he cannot expect a great deal of sympathy .sx Fishing Policy .sx THE FACT that the European Community's court has overruled part of an Act of Parliament for the first time should not come as any surprise .sx The people to blame are not the court but the sloppy drafters of the law intended to keep British fish quotas for British fishermen .sx Those MPs expressing outrage at the loss of British sovereignty as if it was something new are talking nonsense .sx Britain agreed to some pooling of sovereignty , particularly over trade , when it joined the European Community nearly 20 years ago .sx Britain has had to change policies before because of rulings of the European court .sx Britain accepted this because it also expected to gain from the development of a common market .sx The European court struck down our fishing law because it said that three-quarters of the directors and shareholders in companies operating fishing vessels in our waters must be British .sx This contradicts the general right of a commercial established in one European Community country to set up in another .sx An answer to the financial problems facing fishermen through intense competition for depleted stocks cannot be found just by national action .sx Difficult as it is , the European Community needs to develop a more effective fisheries policy based on conservation or there will be no fish left to catch .sx Advice THE advice to secondary and middle schools to shun publicity while parents are making up their minds about the right school for their child is nonsense .sx The advice comes from an Oxford association aptly named MUSH just a few days after the Government began pushing through legislation to give parents more information .sx MUSH , an association of Oxford middle and upper school heads , says that any publicity could be construed as unfair competition .sx But parents could construe the advice of the heads as that of wanting to turn the schools into one glorious grey area , playing down the achievements of the worst schools .sx Thankfully at least one school for girls , Milham Ford , is ignoring the advice .sx Others should do the same .sx Hard way .sx AN Oxford consultant surgeon decided to find out for himself the pressure under which junior doctors have to work .sx Half-way through a seven-day stint , standing in for a junior doctor at a hospital many miles from Oxford , he gave up , unable to cope with the long hours and workload .sx Now he is likely to use his experience in the battle to cut juniors' hours .sx The Government has announced a phased reduction in hours for junior doctors but many people think the target of 72 hours by 1995 for the hardest pressed and by 1997 for the rest is too far away .sx When the consultant surgeon puts his case , he will be speaking from the heart .sx Health service managers and consultants are said to resist shorter hours but to any of his colleagues who pour scorn on this point-of-view , the Oxford consultant can reply :sx " Why not try it ?sx " .sx Spirit THE closure of the youth hostel at Charlbury is sad enough but now we hear that the money will be ploughed back into upgrading other hostels .sx No doubt the money can and should be spent improving other hostels but what causes concern is that the policy of the Youth Hostel Association is to provide 'high quality' hostels and to scrap the dormitory accommodation .sx Youth hostels have provided cheap and cheerful holidays for the young and young-at-heart for years .sx They have given teenagers the chance to rough it without risk and many people on low incomes their only chance of a holiday .sx Sprucing up the hostels is one thing , but if 'high quality' means hostels become hotels with an accompanying jump in price then the spirit of the Youth Hostel Association will be lost .sx And we will be poorer for that .sx Great IT was all hands to the deck when a cancer ward at the Churchill Hospital , Oxford , let it be known that they needed a new piece of equipment .sx Staff , ex-patients , friends and firms lost no time in launching money-raising events or making donations .sx They came up trumps .sx They passed the pounds2,250 target in just 2 1/2months and produced an extra pounds250 which will buy other equipment .sx Which just goes to show what a caring , generous lot the people of Oxfordshire are .sx Talking shop .sx OXFORD City Council has ended up with egg on its face through lack of initiative .sx The council has been taken to task by the prospective Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for letting a major car industry development go ahead in the county rather than capturing it for Oxford .sx The company set up in Stanford-in-the-Vale after turning down an offer to locate in Swindon .sx But the Labour-led Oxford City Council , which produced a lot of hot air when Rover began cutting down the workforce at Cowley , did not even bother to approach the firm .sx The chairman of the city's employment and economic development committee says the city council was not approached .sx But having spent public money supporting ineffective inquiries into Rover's affairs , the city council would be better advised to go and find alternative employment .sx Labour makes a great play about wanting to keep the car industry on its feet in Oxford .sx But it does precious little about it in real terms .sx Deaths THE county's health watchdog is right to call for action after a series of deaths among mental patients .sx The demand to meet the doctor in charge of Oxford's psychiatric hospital follows a series of deaths .sx The latest was revealed at an inquest this week , where it was said that a man in the highest suicide risk area was allowed maximum freedom , and was found hanged in his room .sx There were three other deaths of patients last year , all of whom walked out of the hospital , and a woman was seriously injured after she jumped off a bridge .sx The Community Health Council is dealing with complaints from relatives about aspects of treatment in three of the cases .sx The rules keeping disturbed patients in hospital are notoriously difficult .sx But the hospital authorities should make a full statement and if necessary review their procedures .sx Praise THREE towns in Oxfordshire have become winners in the Britain in Bloom competition .sx Oxford , Banbury and Woodstock scooped the prizes and deserve praise in bringing a splash of colour into a dull year .sx Hopeful signs .sx THE best outcome for the cruel cat and mouse game now being played out over the remaining Western hostages would be a grand deal embracing also the Arabs held captive by Israel and the fate of the seven Israeli missing in Lebanon .sx But the obstacles are still great .sx The euphoria surrounding the release of John McCarthy and Edward Tracy underlines the mixture of hope and disappointment facing the families of those still in captivity .sx The most difficult task now facing the negotiators is to arrange the timings of any further releases on each side .sx The key for further progress are the Shiite prisoners held by Israel and its allies in southern Lebanon , particularly Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid who was seized by Israeli paratroopers .sx It is wrong to compare these prisoners who have become in effect hostages with the small number of terrorists still held in European countries who have been convicted of crimes .sx But Israel is entitled to insist that in return it should be given firm news of the seven missing Israelis .sx If possible the bodies and effects of those who are dead should be returned and the two or more believed to be alive must be released .sx If the hostage holders insist on the immediate release of all Arabs held in prison in Europe for terrorist crimes , they are demanding the impossible .sx But the prospects for writing an end to this brutal chapter on reasonable terms are better than ever before .sx Help IT is good news that a debt crisis helpline will be publicly available next year .sx The Oxfordshire Money Advice Project , set up by the Citizens Advice Bureau , has dealt up till now only with cases referred to it by other help agencies .sx But so many people and small businesses are getting into financial trouble that the Oxfordshire Debtline is to be set up .sx Volunteers will answer calls in the evening .sx The plans are being made at a time when Oxford's Citizens Advice Bureau has had to cut its hours .sx It is short of staff and cannot cope with the workload .sx Let us hope both projects find the volunteers they need .sx Their service is invaluable .sx Looking ahead .sx THE first positive steps were taken last night to rid Blackbird Lays of its tarnished image .sx It should be said that the reputation of the estate , which made national headlines when the joyriding craze was at its peak , is not altogether deserved .sx It is a hangover from the time the estate was first built as council housing for low income families .sx Now the majority of homes are owned by those living there .sx It is not one of Oxford's most affluent areas but it is also not a deprived area .sx It is attractively laid out and has a concentration of some of the best leisure facilities in the city .sx But it still has a problem with some of the young people living there - although no bigger problem than any other estate which has a high proportion of teenagers .sx Even then the mindless vandalism is caused by the minority .sx The community leaders who took the initiative to put a new face on Blackbird Leys last night must have been disappointed to hear that a police car was vandalised while they were meeting .sx It is a sign that the hooligan element is still alive .sx But the hooligans will not win .sx A combination of a sympathetic community and a determined approach by those who care about the place has every chance of burying the past .sx