THE STORY on Friday, March 8, with reference to the schools building programme, is yet another chapter on how this government says one thing and does another.

Mr Blair is boasting how many hospitals he is having built, yet nearly every one, including the one in Swindon, is being built by PFI schemes. The original costs have gone beyond words, and the taxpayer will be paying the bill for the next thirty years.

The story with the school building programme is the same, build for today and pay another day. It will end up with this country up to its neck in debt once again, and it's the taxpayer who foots the bill.

What will our council tax bill be next year, with repayments for the school programme added?

Do we have the teachers needed for these units, or will they again ask for special payments and benefits for the teachers to live here? Even defence contracts tasks are now being carried with PFI backing.

If we default on these payments in the future, what will the consequences be?

T REYNOLDS

Wheeler Avenue

Swindon