Water companies only help the rich

Robert Buckland, one of Swindon’s Tory MPs, has waded into the water crisis with comments opposing nationalisation.

They shows almost as much bankruptcy as the water companies he tries to cover for.

As Thames Water teeters, Buckland insists that “only the private sector will be able to invest".

This smells a bit like the sewage that Buckland’s privatised water companies pour, raw, into our rivers even as they pump cash, paid by those of us who pay for water, into their bank accounts.

Even the departed CEO of Thames Water talked about “decades of underinvestment which has led to cost-cutting”.

Buckland believes the first principle of water supply must be profits for rich people who have grabbed control of that supply, rather than provision of clean water and treatment of sewage.

This means all his “bleating” about regulators amounts to wind.

“The regulator,” he says, “must be as effective as possible”.

That is - as effective as possible without interfering with profits for fat cats.

Peter Smith,

Woodside Avenue,

Swindon

Discharging patients is not always so easy

GWH operations officer Felicity Taylor-Drew wants to see discharged patients collected from hospital as quickly as possible.

Would she confirm that all patient medication will be available at the same time a patient is discharged?

Or will it remain the case that patients are made to wait hours until their drugs are available?

Des Morgan,

Caraway Drive,

Swindon

Volunteer helps schools feed children

As a mum of four, I know just how vital it is for children to gain a quality education that sets them up for life.

It is so desperately sad that not every child in the world is afforded this chance.

Mary’s Meals, the international school feeding charity, is doing amazing work in 18 of the world’s poorest countries to encourage hungry children into the classroom with the promise of a daily school meal.

This gives them energy to learn and hope for a brighter future.

I first became aware of Mary’s Meals when my eldest, Joseph, was in primary school.

His class were doing a school project about the charity.

Inspired by its incredible work, I decided to become a volunteer for this wonderful movement that feeds more than 2.4 million children every school day.

The charity provides one daily meal in a place of learning in order to attract chronically poor children into the classroom, where they receive an education that can, in the future, be their ladder out of poverty.

The average global cost to feed a child with Mary’s Meals for a whole school year is just £19.15.

As a parent, it is always a challenge to think of an appropriate gift at the end of a school year to show appreciation and thanks to your child’s teacher.

This year, Mary’s Meals are offering a special Present for my Teacher digital gift cards.

These cards can be bought for £5, £10, or £19.15.

To gift this to a teacher is a thank you for their important work and a gift of hope and food for those children who need it most.

To purchase a gift card, please visit marysmeals.org.uk/shop

Julie McGowan,

Mum and Mary’s Meals volunteer