.png)
4 hours ago
1
I agree with Sonia Sodha that there are risks to doing nothing on social care (“Labour had plenty of time to ponder social care. Now it has a chance to deliver”, Comment). Dementia is the biggest health and social care challenge of our time but the current system is not set up to meet the needs of almost 1 million people living with dementia in the UK.
We welcome the announcement of an independent commission on adult social care in England, but with the commission’s final report not due until 2028, many people with dementia cannot afford to wait for change. We need to see clear, concrete actions set out in the commission’s interim findings next year and see progress on these actions within this parliament.
One in three people born today will develop dementia, and so pressures on social care will become more acute. We expect an additional 106,000 people with dementia to be living in residential and nursing homes by 2040 so dementia must be at the centre of the commission’s planning. The voices of people living with dementia need to be reflected so that reform delivers accessible, high-quality and affordable care.
Jennifer Keen, head of policy
Alzheimer’s Society
There are stark implications of the delay in implementing Wes Streeting’s election promise for early diagnosis services for people with osteoporosis. Each year, 2,500 people are dying of preventable hip fractures. Fracture liaison services save lives by diagnosing people early but they also save money for the NHS, social services and employers.
When Streeting made the pledge, we acted as a shadow implementation group to make sure his plan for universal access by 2030 succeeds. We’ve been waiting for him to fire the starting gun so we can get on with the work of changing and saving lives from preventable fractures.
Professor Zoe Paskins, British Society for Rheumatology; Charlotte Beardmore, Society and College of Radiographers; Professor Kassim Javaid, Royal College of Physicians; Professor Antony Johansen, National Hip Fracture Database; Dr Lis Boulton, Age UK; Mark Bowditch, President, British Orthopaedic Association; Zoe Chivers, Versus Arthritis; Dr Lavanya Pelluri, Society of Endocrinology; Lauren Hague, Care England and Joanna Gough, British Geriatrics Society
Afghanistan is no paradise
Catherine Bennett’s article on the persecution of women in Afghanistan exposes further restrictions on their lives by the Taliban and offers a tentative route to shaming them into reform (“Visit Afghanistan, land of culture, cricket and women closeted in their own homes”, Comment).
The Taliban are positive about two things: launching Afghanistan as a tourist paradise and basking in the glory of their winning cricket team. Tourist companies dwell on the magnificence of Afghanistan, but maybe a counter-offensive should advertise the repression of women to combat the Taliban’s image of a now normal, peaceful land. International cricket should refuse participation until they agree to a reform: one which allows a women’s cricket team, for instance.
Barbara Maitra
Oswestry, Shropshire
Legal horn trade and rhinos
Your article on the rhino horn trade echoed a refrain that legalisation could help to save Africa’s dwindling rhino populations (“ ‘We have to change our attitude’: wildlife expert says rhino horn trade must be legalised”, News). It is a flawed, dangerous narrative that has been repeatedly discredited by conservationists and animal protection organisations.
At the heart of this lies the desire by some African nations to sell rhino horn stockpiles. Governments and private owners stand to profit handsomely, but the windfall rarely trickles down to local communities. Another dangerous myth is the notion that the proceeds could fund rhino protection. After the 2008 legalisation of ivory sale by several countries, poaching skyrocketed and elephant populations suffered catastrophic losses. The booming demand for rhino horn is driven by wealthy consumers in Asia and legal supply would confer respectability. Commodification of rhino horn is not the solution to the poaching crisis, it is part of the problem.
Janice H Cox
Wilderness, Western Cape, South Africa
Fewer prisoners needed
Either people need to be in prison for a very long time because they are dangerous, or they don’t need to be in prison at all (“Fears of unrest as PM considers open prison for more offenders”, News). We need to stop locking up people for financial crimes because there are more suitable punishments like confiscation of wealth. People who are safe enough for an open prison are safe enough to be released or have non-custodial sentences. We don’t need more prisons, we need to revise our penal system.
Angela Singer
Cambridge
Rape trial crisis will worsen
It is ironic that the government is trying to speed up the trials in rape cases when for years the profession has been telling politicians that the low rate of remuneration will lead to a shortage of lawyers in all areas of crime (“Labour goes slow on rape courts pledge amid fears over shortage of lawyers”, News).
The crisis is attributable to this as well as the increasing demands on lawyers in these cases, the majority of which are taking two to three years from investigation to first court appearance, with tens of thousands in the queue. It is no surprise that complainants give up. How does this benefit complainants, defendants, witnesses or the reputation of the justice system?
Ian Kelcey, past chairman of the Criminal Law Committee of the Law Society of England and Wales
Bristol
Take whales off the menu
I was shocked to read chef Mike Keen’s advocacy (“Dried halibut and whale jerky: how a traditional Inuit diet fuelled an epic kayak adventure”, last week) of the reported benefits of seal and whale meat and a blubber-based diet. Aside from indigenous communities in Greenland, no one should be stuffing their freezer with endangered marine mammals. In the nearby Faroe Islands, the chief medical officer warns against the consumption of marine mammals due to their high levels of pollutants. Explorers should be trying to protect our precious marine ecosystems and not make small-scale Inuit practices become the latest viral trend.
Rob Read, chief operating officer,
Paul Watson Foundation UK, anti-whaling organisation
Writing for love, and money
Gareth Rubin’s column will find an echo in many hearts (“Impoverished authors are told they should do it for the love. Try saying that to a dentist”, Comment). How pleasant it would be if British authors could receive the kind of state support enjoyed by many Nordic writers.
The collapse of funding for public libraries is another nail in the coffin and the boosting of Stem subjects in schools has come at the expense of the arts. We need more money or literature will become an adjunct of the nostalgia industry. The other problem is the tsunami of trash and mediocrity, mostly from America. If our much-vaunted literary culture is to survive, then readers should buy British. Nobody becomes a writer expecting to get rich, but neither can anyone survive on £7,000 a year.
Amanda Craig
London NW1
