In his interesting account of the Ofsted report on Roma education (Officials twitchy over Roma report, 13 January), Warwick Mansell could have mentioned that the report made it quite clear that the education of the other children in the schools with large Roma populations had not suffered in any way through their presence. That’s one twitch less, and it would help redress the balance to say so.
Janet Whitaker
Labour, House of Lords
• When the Tories said “The NHS is safe in our hands” (NHS is toxic for Tories, poll shows, 14 January), what they really meant was “The NHS will be safely in our hands”. With the number of Tory politicians blatantly involved in private health companies, it very nearly is.
Tony Vinicombe
Shoreham, West Sussex
• Tories are toxic for the NHS.
Laurence Gibson
Stowe, Buckinghamshire
• Toasters kill more people than sharks (Letters, 13 January)? I wonder how many of those killed were using Jamie Oliver’s horizontal cheese on toast method (Do something, 10 January; Corrections and clarifications, 10 January)?
Martin Jeeves
Cardiff
• Instead of the unpleasant term “bed-blockers” (Letters, 12 January; A certain age, G2, 13 January), you should use the word “prisoners”. That is what people in custody in hospital are, denied release because of savage cuts in social care.
Jane Lawson
London
• Economists themselves sometimes ask how many economists it takes to change a lightbulb (Letters, 14 January). Answer: none, the market will do it for you.
Jem Whiteley
Oxford
• With its picture of Big Ben, HP sauce epitomises Britishness (Letters, 14 January). It’s a pity then that it is now manufactured in the Netherlands.
Alan Woodley
Northampton
