Dear Editor,

In August I wrote about the ongoing problems with pharmacy access in Wellington. Sadly, nothing has improved – in fact, the situation has worsened.

The Somerset Health and Wellbeing Board has now published its new Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) for 2025–28. Yet it still lists a pharmacy in Wellington that the NHS has since removed from its approved list under Regulation 25 of the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013. This means the PNA is already out of date and misleading, suggesting the town has more provision than it really does.

For many residents – especially older people, carers, and those without cars – this inaccuracy matters. With new housing at Jurston Fields and Orchard Grove adding thousands more residents, Wellington urgently needs reliable, properly staffed pharmacy services.

I’ve submitted a full evidence pack to Somerset Council and our MP, showing how the figures were copied from the last assessment and why a Supplementary Statement must now be issued. A copy will also be shared publicly on local forums for anyone who wants to see the detail.

If the system cannot see what is happening on its own doorstep, then it falls to us – the patients – to remind it that access to medicines is not optional, it’s essential.

Yours faithfully,

Roger Tozer

Wellington

Dear Editor,

I am pleased to see Mr Yates is keen to see a station in the town.

However can he explain why the Conservative Party sold the rights to place aerosol tanks on the old station which had many suitable buildings and passing tracks for a modest sum ensuring it could not be used again following a serious fatal accident in Russia, resulting in the cost of 3.5-million pounds to build a new station without passing loops outside the town.

Yours faithfully,

Michael Rose

via email

Dear Editor,

As a private landlord I have always done my best to maintain my property to the optimum standard and make sure my various tenants have lived in comfortable, clean and warm homes. It is a responsibility I've always taken seriously as any landlord should; the tenants pay the rent regularly and I look after them. It's a done deal, agreed!

Not so for the families of military personnel; up till now, sadly, there has been no obligation for the Ministry of Defence to comply with legislation which applies to other rental homes at large in the UK to keep properties up-to-scratch and service families safe and comfortable. Horror stories of black mould and vermin have been rife and as the nation celebrated past sacrifices in time of war on VE Day in May this year, some 400 service homes were listed as unfit!

But all that is about to change as our local MP, Gideon Amos, has won cross-party support for statutory assessments of military quarters that has led the government to introduce this as law in the Renters’ Rights Bill and enforce a policy based on a Lib Dem amendment that the government previously voted down.

So, with emotions running currently high on matters of nationalism, maybe it's a good time to reflect that real patriotism shows deep concern for others and their well-being in the taking of practical steps to ensure the comfort and safety of our armed forces personnel and their families, both at home and away.

When any of them may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice for us in conflict, the least we can do is to ensure they and they and their loved ones have decent, safe homes to return to and live in.

J F Pocock

Wellington

Dear Editor,

Councils across the country are facing the same financial storm. From Somerset to Kent, local authorities of every political colour are struggling to balance their budgets while protecting vital services. Even Kent County Council, now under Reform UK administration, has announced record council tax rises, showing that the crisis in local government finance is nationwide.

Somerset Council is working with the cards handed to us by previous governments. Years of underfunding and short-term policies have left councils with impossible choices. We are now being pressed by central government to sell public assets, including buildings, land and community facilities, simply to fund day-to-day revenue costs such as adult and children’s social care. That approach is not sustainable and it is not fair to residents who depend on those services.

More than seventy per cent of Somerset’s spending is tied to statutory care services. These are essential, life-saving responsibilities that cannot be cut without serious consequences. At the same time, rising demand, inflation and reduced government grants have created a budget gap of over one hundred million pounds in the next two years.

This is not a local failure but a national funding crisis. The Liberal Democrats believe the only credible way forward is to work together across parties, sectors and communities to protect essential services while improving efficiency, innovation and partnership.

In Somerset, this means:

• Streamlining operations to remove duplication following the unitary merger.

• Using innovation and technology to make services faster and more effective.

• Working with the NHS, local businesses and education providers to improve outcomes.

• Challenging Westminster for a fair and long-term funding deal for adult and children’s social care.

The Liberal Democrats are determined to lead with honesty, collaboration and responsibility. Somerset deserves a sustainable future, not another cycle of short-term fixes. By working together, we can protect residents, strengthen our communities and rebuild trust in local government.

Cllr Habib Farbahi (Lib Dem, Comeytrowe & Trull)

Taunton

Dear Editor,

Decades after the communication and digital revolutions transformed business efficiency, Somerset’s councils finally merged into a single unitary authority — a sensible move that should have streamlined services and saved millions. Yet, over two years on, the result is chaos and crisis.

Auditors Grant Thornton have twice issued statutory warnings, out of only four issued nationally, because £18.5-million savings from the One Somerset merger never appeared. The Liberal Democrat council now teeters on the edge of bankruptcy. Despite having an extra year to prepare, there was no meaningful merger planning after May 2022.

Since 2023, Somerset Council has spent more than £33-million on consultants and agency staff — about the same amount it just saved by cutting 300 posts to balance the budget. Now, another £20-million is being poured into a so-called “Inspiring Innovation” partnership with Newton Consulting, which looks suspiciously like outsourcing by another name. Paying consultants to tell highly paid managers how to save money is not leadership — it is an abdication of it.

Meanwhile, the projected deficit stands at £146-million by 2027 on a £600-million budget. Government intervention looms large.

Instead of focusing on core services, the council has approved a “Modern Data and AI Council” — despite government trials showing no real productivity gains from such technology. At the same time, millions in regeneration funding for the Glastonbury Life Factory remain unaccounted for, risking a £2.4-million clawback.

Somerset residents deserve competent, accountable leadership from the Liberal Democrats — not another officer led costly experiment or headline-grabbing distraction. This is not just a financial emergency or a planning emergency. It is a leadership emergency.

Chris Mann

Taunton