As a member of both the CIOB and a fellow of the RICS, I read with interest the comments in'Month in Numbers' (CM, May) concerning the salary of the RICS' chief executive and the slightly erroneous figure given in respect of the proposed membership fee to be charged next year - £453 is the figure that sticks in my mind.

You may be interested to know that the RICS chief exec's salary is the equivalent of 478.7 Fellows paying this new fee next year.

And while reading with some detachment of the goings on of the CIOB's new Architecture & Surveying faculty, I wonder why it has never occurred to the CIOB to provide a clearly identifiable niche for QSs who don't necessarily always see themselves as chartered builders. Following the demise of the IQS, there is probably a large number of disgruntled QSs within the RICS who feel disenfranchised. I voted against the merger, thinking it was a bad move for the QS profession.

I suggest that time has proved me right.