SIR – The Government keeps crowing about the amount of money they are paying out in social benefits, but the seeds of this mess were sown many years ago when the miners, shipbuilders and steelmakers were thrown onto the scrapheap and left to rot.

So the Government should learn lessons from previous mistakes and make sure no young person is left on the scrapheap. After all, they are the country’s future.

JOHN SHEARON

Worcester