There are established disciplinary procedures

There are established disciplinary procedures.
The public may be unaware that in many areas the evidence base for orthodox medicine is non-existent, and the potential for harm substantial.The evidence base for medical homeopathy is far from complete. The Faculty of Homeopathy was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1950 to oversee and regulate medical homeopathy. The faculty promotes effective, safe homeopathic medicine, practised by qualified doctors and other registered healthcare professionals. As a GP and medical homeopath, I draw to your attention that parts of the world of complementary/alternative medicine are governed responsibly. The suggestion that special education is draining education budgets is a myth.

The Audit Commission appears to be playing with figures by suggesting that spending is rising on SEN. Latest DfEE figures show that pounds 1.69bn was spent by LEAs on pupils with statements of special education needs in 1996-97 compared with pounds 1.82bn for 1994-95.ACE would argue that this is an argument to better finance special education, especially if inclusion of disabled children into mainstream schools is to succeed, not remove the hard-won rights of children with disabilities.MARGARET McGOWANThe Advisory Centre for Education, London N5. Or in other words, moving the emphasis away from statementing, which legally entitles children to extra help, to the discretionary provision provided by schools.
Our experience is that help is only guaranteed where there is a statutory duty.LEA problems stem from the fact that insufficient extra resources were put into special educational needs following the introduction of the Code of Practice in 1994. Expenditure by LEAs on pupils and students with statements of special educational needs has gone down since the code was introduced. The solutions – often involving shifting resources from one area to another – are intended to take the pressure off the statutory duties of the LEA and shift it to parents and schools.

As an organisation which every day hears distressing stories from such parents we fear that the stage is being set to reduce the rights of children with statements of special educational need. The “problem” defined by the Audit Commission in its report on special needs affects local education authorities. Sir: The flip way your leader (“A statement of the obvious”, 18 September) dismisses parents of disabled children is clearly not informed by any contact with parents struggling to get the right education for their child. However, entire communities were supported by the former and large tax revenues raised.
Perhaps we need a fiscal tool such as a subsidy to firms based on their number of employees to make up for this, and Government policies encouraging full employment as well as financial growth. It would act as a check against simple downsizing which, although assisting the market value of a company, does not help the economy as a whole.BOB GOODALLSt Albans, Hertfordshire. Sir: Microsoft employs 22,000 and General Electric 276,000, so who is really the most important to the economy and to the communities they operate in (“Microsoft topples GE as king of the market”, Business, 17 September)?

In the UK we have allowed industries employing many people, for example coal and steel, to decline because they do not appear to be as financially sound on paper as, for instance, a city firm, employing few but generating profit.

This effectively represents money diverted from hard-pressed education and health budgets in the long run.The Treasury might like to reflect on this every time a new PFI contract is signed.MC FITZPATRICKHead of EconomicsChantrey WellacottLondon WC1. By contrast, the public sector can currently borrow via a 20 year gilt at around 5 per cent per annum. Treasury figures suggest that the value of assets procured for the use of the public sector in the years 1997/98 to 2000/01 will total about pounds 12bn.Assuming an average rate of return for PFI investors of just 10 per cent per annum, then for every pounds 10bn net assets in use under PFI at any one time, the cost to the taxpayer is pounds 500m per annum higher than if the assets had been acquired by the public sector directly. Over the 20-year period, the PFI investor has to recover the capital cost of the asset, and earn a return on the net funds invested. While the details of return enjoyed on PFI contracts must – on the grounds of commercial confidentially – remain secret, it is reported that at least one City PFI fund manager is offering returns of up to 15 per cent per annum to investors. This is because PFI is a more expensive way for the public sector to acquire the use of assets, as compared with the public sector borrowing funds and buying the assets direct.
Take the case of a PFI project to provide the public sector with the use of an asset with an estimated economic life of 20 years.

This decision follows John Prescott’s comments at the TUC regarding PFI earlier in the week. Specifically, Prescott argued that PFI is essential to allow more money to be allocated for health and education. In fact, and on the basis that the Government generally allocates all the spare cash it has to health and education, the use of PFI reduces the amount available for health and education. Henceforward, have to spend the evening going about bleating `haven’t, haven’t, haven’t’ and, consequently, do not enjoy myself overly Go home to bed. Dream I forgot to tell Richard that `Esterhuysen’ would not have been as bad as `Esther Rantzen.’ Then wake up and realise I didn’t, thank God.” `By Design’, Picador pounds 15.99.