LETTERS

Sing it loud

I AM delighted the first decision by Tim Davie, new director-general of the BBC, is to reverse the ridiculous decision on rule, Britannia and Land of hope And Glory at the Last night of the Proms. I am looking forward to hearing these songs performed with gusto by the BBC Singers.

Let’s hope Mr Davie’s next announcement is the restoration of the free TV licence for the over-75s.

Name and address supplied. The BBC states ‘audiences will be free to sing along at home’ at the last night of the Proms. Did it really think it had any power to stop us?

KEN ISAAC, Horndean, Hants. The first same-sex couple in Strictly Come Dancing will be as much of a ratings success as the first female Doctor Who.

Given the over-50s demographic of this show, ratings will crash. I predict that before long, the BBC’s moneyspinner will become a money pit as viewers turn off en masse.

The last waltz will be announced with excuses of ‘a worn-out format’. Don’t say you weren’t warned, BBC: go woke, go broke!

MArK BOYLE, Johnstone, renfrewshire.

In the mire

ThIS is the year when companies large and small will not make a profit. Corporation tax will be nil.

on top of that, companies will be able to write off future profits against these losses. For many years corporation tax collection will be down substantially. In addition millions will be unemployed.

That is a double whammy because they will go on to social security, an additional drain on public funds.

The economy will recover from a trading point of view, but taxation collection will take many years to recover to pre- Covid- 19 levels. Financially, we are in the mire.

TONY SALISBUrY, rugeley, Staffs.

Valued for being over 50

For the first time in my career, I found myself out of work. The admin job I was due to start in April was withdrawn due to the pandemic.

Five months and a handful of unanswered applications later, I applied to a local firm providing care and support in the community.

I didn’t have the minimum one-year experience in the care sector, but could demonstrate interpersonal and time management skills, motivation and a good work ethic. I got the job and love my new role.

The pandemic has shone a light on person-centered vocations and I feel more rewarded and of greater value than in my previous office jobs.

I am in my 50s and my life skills feel like an asset in this new vocation when my age may be considered less desirable to other businesses.

others with backgrounds in secretarial, retail and leisure work could discover the same.

TrACEY HOrAN, Sherborne, Dorset.

Back to basics

hAS the once-renowned national Trust not learnt from its downward spiral and the betrayal of its core principles (Mail)?

Many superb buildings have been bequeathed to the Trust for the nation. But the board appears hellbent on downgrading fundamentals to pander to a minority.

I worked as a volunteer for 13 years at Felbrigg hall in norfolk and I hope that the national Trust can get back to what it once did so well.

MIKE HOLMES, Sheringham, Norfolk.

Save our farms

We MAY be in need of housing, but with a rising population, how are we going to feed everyone (Letters)?

When we are importing huge amounts of food at great ecological cost, how can we justify building on prime farming land? I live in the heart of an agricultural area yet despite complaints from locals, the council has agreed to huge building projects where crops now grow.

The Government should ban building on farmland. If it isn’t suitable for wheat, barley, oil seed rape, potatoes, carrots, onions or sugar beet then livestock should roam the land.

Farmers are tempted to sell land for a big profit, but developers are cramming in houses without a garden big enough for a vegetable patch or to support wildlife.

We need to take action before we lose our ability to feed the nation.

Name supplied, Sawtry, Cambs.

Helping hands

ThAnKS to the Chancellor, restaurants and pubs have been able to give generous discounts to kick- start trade after lockdown.

The next helping hands should be free parking in town centres for a month, discounted bus and rail fares to get people back to their offices and vouchers to spend in shops, the cinema and struggling attractions. Mrs JANE GrUMMITT, Shavington, Cheshire. The day after the eat out To help out scheme ended, which encouraged people to order high-fat, halfprice meals by the bucketload, the Government launched a scheme to lose weight gained by over-eating.

Give us half-price, good- quality fruit and veg and let’s see how much self-help is out there. TONY THOMPSON,

Banbury, Oxon. The nhS announcement about GPs managing a new regime for diabetes

is a joke. Many of us have not been reviewed by our doctor since the start of lockdown. The NHS is failing dismally and hiding behind Covid-19. CHRISTOPHER J. STEGGLES, Eastleigh, Hants.

Legal bids lack appeal

WE CAN’T resolve the illegal immigrant problem when the legal profession is making appeal after appeal at taxpayers’ expense, despite most of those smuggled here being economic migrants.

Yet we can’t give shelter to those suffering persecution — Afghans who interpreted for the British Army and Hong Kong Chinese with British overseas passports who are fighting for democracy.

We are behaving as if we are liberal, but by encouraging illegal immigrants, we are motivating many to make perilous crossings and make people smugglers rich. MICHAEL ALDRIDGE,

Cleethorpes, Lincs. AT LAST a Chancellor with a sensible idea to cut the foreign aid budget to prop up our deficit. Charity really does begin at home.

JOHN THOMAS, Aberdare, Mid Glamorgan.

Work-life imbalance

WORKING from home is not a marvellous success.

Customer service is at an all-time low, with phones and emails unanswered. All you get is the automated response: ‘The health of our employees is our priority.’

I have been unable to get my boiler serviced, see a doctor, request a refund or contact my bank.

Working from home may give employees a work-life balance of popping to the shops while working early in the morning or late at night, so avoiding customer contact.

They should remember that if a phone and computer is all you need to do your job, it could be outsourced to India.

Employers won’t care who does the work because their sole driving force is profit. BEVERLEY GULLEY, Port Talbot, W. Glamorgan.

Get back to work

THROUGHOUT the pandemic we have benefited from the fact so many workers carried on as normal.

Thank you to those who ensured we would have water when we turned on the tap; shop workers putting in long hours so food and essentials were always available; and dustmen and delivery drivers working around the clock.

Not for them an extra hour in bed and spending precious time with their children as they ‘worked’ from home. How I wish the Government would insist all civil servants return to their desks immediately and set a good example to the nation. KATE & JOHN MANNING, Tenterden, Kent.

Traffic chaos

MANY of the roads in Faversham have been reassigned as 20 mph.

Some roads have been narrowed to make room for an extra-wide pavement incorporating a cycle lane, causing issues for two-way traffic.

However, not only were cyclists ignoring the cycle lane, but they were riding faster on the road than the 20 mph speed limit.

What’s the point of providing safe cycle lanes and causing congestion for everyone else if they’re not used?

JOHN HAWKINS, Sittingbourne, Kent.