REFERRING to Jane Burnet’s letter, August 21, ‘Have Your Say’, the Green Party’s Parliamentary Candidate.

With respect to the Green Party’s ideas, that education is the answer to the problems of encouraging highly paid jobs to the area, I would differ and say re-education.

Bosses and employers need re-educating on the fact that the problems of low pay and skills shortages need addressing.

Our local councils should set an example and enforce the living wage of £7.65 per hour and severely curtail the use of zero hour contracts so setting a precedent to the private sector.

On affordable housing, with housing developers being able to avoid building them on sites, by paying a financial settlement and with Magna Housing Association seemingly to have withdrawn from building affordable housing in the near future, drastic action is needed.

Either enforce the 35 per cent affordable homes on all sites or take the radical step of using all the small pots of financial settlements and make ‘one large pot’ and restore council housing.

Some will say this can’t be done, but Cambridge, Winchester and some London boroughs are starting or planning new council housing.

The Thatcherites will say ‘what about the right to buy?’. Well, let it continue but with a proviso that 100 per cent of all the finances is ring fenced and reinvested in rebuilding and maintenance of the council housing stick, not siphoned off to other projects. At the moment not enough affordable housing is being built for locals.

WDDC, Weymouth and Portland and DCC should all attempt to resolve the problems of low pay and housing shortages and set an example to private employers and property developers. Then, perhaps, an answer to these problems can start to be resolved locally.

Barry Thompson Chairman, Dorchester and District Labour Part