SIR – The T&A reported that Bradford Council has pledged to investigate any concerns older people may have about their care following the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s report into council-run home care.

We need to be realistic; the Council may provide some of the cash but services are ‘run’ by private profit-making companies, whereas previously this was a 100 per cent Council role.

The Government supports this provision, stating a larger number of ‘providers’ will give ‘service users’ greater choice. I would speculate choice is never part of the equation; and though in general terms I cannot comment on services being provided, I am aware of a number of gross failures when older people have been neglected and abused and the current system has failed to cope.

In the Seventies, Eighties and early Nineties, I was based at the Social Services office on Rooley Lane from where Home-Care services were managed for residents in Holme Wood, Bierley and Bowling. I recall each Wednesday the office would be ‘invaded’ by 40 to 50 home helps to get their pay and work allocation.

They would exchange anecdotes not just as tittle-tattle, but so their colleagues could be aware of “particular clients’ needs” and enable a personal service to continue even if the regular person was unavailable. Private sector providers cannot do this. Can they?

Let’s return to the old system – it wasn’t broken and didn’t need fixing.

Joe Froggatt, Stony Lane, Honley