YEP Letters: July 23

Householders’ efforts wasted

A Ward, Leeds 8

In respect of the proposed fine on residents for not correctly disposing of their household rubbish, as the YEP editorial said, readers have made their feelings felt about this in the past.

Indeed I wrote a few weeks ago about the fact that the men emptying bins in our little cul-de-sac had emptied all three bins at one go from an empty house. If the men employed to do this job ignore the instructions why should householders make an effort?

To add insult to injury, I have had no response to my email to the council about this subject.

I do believe in recycling and make every effort to sort everything, but feel all our efforts are wasted when the council’s employees “do their own thing” so to speak.

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Increasing concern over care facilities

Councillor Neil Buckley, Shadow Spokesman for Adult Social Care, Leeds City Council

It was disappointing to see that three more care facilities in Leeds have been inspected and found wanting (YEP, July 19).

They are the latest in a worrying number from Leeds considered to be below par, rated as either ‘requires improvement’, or worse, ‘inadequate’.

I cannot be the only one to have become increasingly concerned about these results, for what they say about the quality of care received by some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

At the end of March this year your newspaper found that of the 190 care facilities inspected in Leeds and Wakefield, 90 of them were rated in the bottom two categories, and with each round of inspections since then there have been more facilities judged as not making the grade.

If the inspection regime operated by the Care Quality Commission is robust and fair – and we have no reason to suspect it is not – then these ratings suggest a pattern of poor care that simply must be addressed.

I do not want to castigate the people or institutions providing care services in our city – there are many doing excellent work.

There are also a great many reasons explaining why a facility might be rated poorly, unique to the particular circumstances and challenges involved.

There is also a limit to what the Council itself can do, as these are independent care facilities and the CQC is responsible for maintaining care standards.

Nevertheless, acknowledging those limitations, I am encouraged by the fact that the council’s scrutiny board for adult social services receives regular updates on inspection outcomes, as part of its remit to maintain an overview of health and care services in the city, and I hope it will continue to work closely with the CQC to ensure everyone is doing everything they can to support under-performing facilities to improve.

Support radical, socialist ideas

Dr Glyn Powell, Kellington

Conservative prime minister Theresa May professes to be a one-nation Tory.

However, her cabinet is stacked with right-wing ministers, who doubtless will pursue policies that benefit only the wealthiest in society.

Despite this, Owen Smith - a Blairite nobody - chooses to fight the democratically elected Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership, instead of urging MPs to unite behind Corbyn in challenging disastrous Tory policies.

What is needed in the opposition, is support for Corbyn’s radical, socialist ideas, as it is such ideas that, when enacted, will benefit the majority of people in society rather than an over privileged minority.