Two solutions to the crisis we are now facing

UNTIL they were privatised, gas, electricity, water, steel, telecoms and transport were once all owned and controlled by the public sector.

Since privatisation the companies have made vast profits which have been distributed to their shareholders by way of excessive dividends.

Often these dividends are paid to foreign concerns including those controlled by overseas Governments.

The profits should have accrued to the public purse and be available for providing improved services for the public.

There is an argument that the utility companies should be re-nationalised.

One alternative to this is for the Government to impose significant annual windfall taxes on the privatised industries.

If this were to happen, then perhaps there would soon be fewer ambulances queuing outside A&E for hours.

We might even be able to get a faceto-face GP appointment on request.

Indeed, we really would be “taking back control”.

Keith Waldon Abbeydale

SEVERN Trent provide us with water and look after the quality of our waterways.

In December 2021, Severn Trent was fined £1.5 million for an illegal discharge. Around 360,000 litres of raw sewage was discharged from a water treatment works in Worcestershire.

Having just watched a depressing Channel Four “Dispatches” it is pretty clear that fines such as this will be rarer, as government funding to the Environment Agency is being cut back.

No such cuts to water bosses’ pay, it seems. Severn Trent’s CEO (Liv Garfield) was paid £3.9 million in 2021. John Ricketts

Lynworth

THE North-south divide for students’ achievements has persisted for another year, and we expect this will be true for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds when compared with their better-off peers.

Last year, one in three students in receipt of free school meals achieved the equivalent of five ‘good’ GCSES or more, locking many out of further education, training and job opportunities.

Funding is urgently needed. GCSE equivalents must be protected, so that opportunities remain open to those facing barriers to learning.

Pupil Premium funded support and careers advice available for younger students must be extended up to 19 years old.

These steps are vital for young people to access work and further study.

Our message is clear: As young people grapple with unprecedented challenges, we must open more doors for them, not fewer.

Elise Temple Nacro Principal and Director of Education and Skills