CARE HOMES: IT is heartening to win support for my views about residential care homes for the elderly in County Durham (HAS, Mar 31). I know that most people are living longer and want to live independently in their own homes.

Council care needs to adapt to reflect this ambition. That said, there will always be a need for residential care.

The question we have been rehearsing is whether Durham County Council provides these services itself or buys places in homes run by other organisations.

In response to the specific questions raised by your correspondent, S Brown, of Bishop Auckland, I can say:

The cost per bed per week in a council-run care home is £612 compared to £353 in an independent care home;

The percentage of beds provided directly by the council in care homes compared to independent sector-provided beds is approximately eight per cent;

In the county there are 107 care homes in the independent sector run by 59 different organisations as opposed to 13 council-run homes (12 per cent);

The current long-term occupancy of council-run care homes varies from home to home, but the average is less than 68 per cent;

The cost of essential repairs and maintenance required in the 13 council-run homes is approximately £2.7m, and the cost to bring all council homes up to the standard required for new care homes would be approximately £39m. - Ken Manton, Leader, Durham County Council.

PACIFISM DEBATE

WITH regard to recent correspondence on pacifism (HAS Apr 6,10,11 and 14), I think that the right to use minimum force in self-defence as a last resort can be justified both morally and legally, but no one could seriously argue that the invasion of Iraq could be justified on this basis.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed, maimed, bereaved and brutalised in a war which has served only to make the world a more dangerous and violent place.

This was predicted by millions of anti-war protestors, and also by reputable political, military and intelligence analysts both in the West and in the Arab countries that Mr Bush and Mr Blair pretended they were trying to protect.

It is in the context of this illegal and immoral war that peace campaigners such as Norman Kember continue to do vital work, building bridges with the ordinary civilians who are the victims of this madness, and exposing the atrocities which are regularly committed on the pretext of a "just war". - Pete Winstanley, Durham.

EDUCATION AND SELECTION

FOR the information of Keith Mitchell, Durham County Council's retiring director of education (Echo, Apr 10), and those who would insist on common mediocrity, life is all about selection, from birth to eventual burial or cremation.

For more than 30 years Mr Mitchell has been a part of the problem. He and non-teaching local education authority personnel have drained money from education budgets, money which the Government insists is going to schools, to pay themselves.

Your editorial hit the nail squarely on the head. Parents, or in my case grandparents, just want schools which educate the pupils to an agreed standard.

Some children may be academically inclined, some more practically minded, others may be budding entrepreneurs, but the one-size-fits-all system that the likes of Mr Mitchell advocates doesn't work. We are all different and our differences are to be celebrated, not ironed out.

Pupils go out into the world of employment and find that ability is rewarded. People who work harder or better are promoted, people who "go with the flow" and just turn up are flabbergasted to find that life isn't like school.

Set a common syllabus at central level, pass the money, so much per head, direct to the schools and let them educate the children.Get the time-servers and town hall hangers-on out of the system. - Dennis Clark, Billingham.

HOSPITAL NUTRITION

A RECENT report from a variety of agencies expressed concern about the care of older people within the NHS.

Last year, I had cause to make a complaint about the care of my mother-in-law in a hospital within The Northern Echo area.

I was aware of the problems as I was a General Election candidate in the area and so was visiting her. I was aware of immense differences to the care she would have received in the hospital in Edinburgh where I am a social worker.

Nutrition was of particular concern. I saw my mother-in-law being given inappropriate food that she could not eat and with nobody to help her. From experience I knew to ask for the input of a dietician, the use of a food chart and the use of supplements.

When I complained, I was told that nutrition was not seen as a priority as my mother-in-law was expected to die - but she got better.

If this was a problem for myself with knowledge of the subject, what of those patients whose relatives have no knowledge or who have no relatives at all?

I have now introduced Scottish policy on Hospital Nutrition at the Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference in Aviemore. I hope to introduce a national policy for the party.

I am calling for national guidelines on hospital nutrition that are enforceable so that the care one gets does not depend on which hospital you find yourself in. - Jacquie Bell, Liberal Democrat, Belhaven, Dunbar, East Lothian.

BORO TOPS

NEWCASTLE United fan J Booth stated that his beloved team are the most successful club in the region this season (HAS, Apr 14), and that The Northern Echo's Matt Westcott got it wrong by stating that Middlesbrough are the region's top dogs.

I do not know which football season J Booth is referring to, but Middlesbrough are without any doubt the top club in North-Eastern football at this moment in time.

The club are currently involved in two semi-finals, and they also lifted the League Cup a couple of years ago, while Newcastle have not won a trophy in nearly 40 years.

This proves to me and many pundits that Middlesbrough are without any doubt the current biggest club in the North-East, and I and many other Darlingtonians wish our Tees Valley neighbours every success in their current quest for football glory. Good luck, Boro. - Christopher Wardell, Darlington.

SHOOTING SEASON

AT a time when bird flu is spreading I understand there are plans to import pheasant chicks to the UK to be killed on shooting estates later this year. They will be shipped from European countries where bird flu has already been confirmed.

Despite those involved in the shooting industry being well aware of the lack of facilities to cope with a bird flu outbreak, they have no plans to scale down or suspend this year's shooting season.

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has been so keen to protect the industry's financial interests that it has recommended that the already overcrowded British game farms increase the breeding of UK gamebirds.

The health risks of bird flu are severe. We have seen around the world it can be lethal to animals and people alike, but the shooting industry has put the interests of wildlife second to short-term economic profit and the countryside at risk for years to come. It's a time bomb. Please register your disgust to the BASC and your MP. - Name supplied, Crook