I WAS slightly disappointed to read your newspaper s Comment column last Friday regarding the future of day care centres. It appears to me that you have not listened to the concerns of those most likely to be affected by these changes, (which are budget a

I WAS slightly disappointed to read your newspaper's Comment column last Friday regarding the future of day care centres.

It appears to me that you have not listened to the concerns of those most likely to be affected by these changes, (which are budget and not service driven), namely the parents and day centre staff.

I admit that on the surface the local authority appears to have a strong prima facie case for what it is proposing. But the devil, as they say, is in the detail. And having tried to sneak changes through without proper consultation initially, is it not surprising that most parents have lost respect, and more importantly trust or local authority officials?

I hope your newspaper will continue to monitor developments and maybe even make contact with some parents to publicise their concerns.

As I said in my earlier letter, which you kindly published, what does this "funding" the County Council refers to actually amount to? Some £30a day.

The bottom line is that the local authority is privatising day care centres, not handing them over to the voluntary sector. This is likely in my opinion to be as bad as the institutions you refer to.

Today's day care centres are a million miles away from these instititions, which were often created by elected local officials who knew nothing at first hand of the people they were dealing with.

A case of history repeating itself? I do hope not. A society should in part be measured by how it looks after its most vulnerable members. I have an awful dread that those with learning disabilities are just about to get an awfully raw deal.

JAMES HAYES, Eastrea