I WRITE as one who worked for Remploy for about 15 years as a factory manager in the North- East so I know what disabled people are capable of.

Their contribution to local industry from the production of Remploy factories has much greater value in both personal and financial terms than consigning these people to sitting at home unemployed.

As a comparison, a fraction of the vast amount of taxpayers’ money wasted by successive governments in worthless projects and other policy disasters would keep this company’s factories alive in this hard-pressed region, the UK as a whole and perform a worthwhile function too.

If it is a measure of a civilized society how it cares for its weaker members, then this and the previous government should be ashamed about their closure of many Remploy places of work.

I therefore fully support the editorial and comments made in The Northern Echo about this matter (Echo, Dec 7).

Chris Greenwell, Darlington.