Sir - Your 27.1.'15 report on draft proposals to merge and privatise refuse collection across a wide swathe of the West Midlands and the South-West made interesting, although rather alarming, reading.

We are told that the controlling Tory Group and its "Managing Director" (does the City Council have any Directors who do not "manage"?) "believes [that] great savings could be made under ever-larger economies of scale".

In response, the Leader of the opposition Labour Group, Adrian Gregson, sloganizes, rather lazily, that this "cannot be right". Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, he is not quoted as attempting to justify this opinion.

Well, kind-hearted as I am, I will offer the fact that all the evidence demonstrates that there are, virtually always, also serious dis-economies of this degree of scale, and that the unwary and inexperienced are particularly prone to them.

I would not, however, commend this argument to Councillor Gregson unless he fully understands the detail of it, because he would be likely to be found out - though not before time.

David Barlow

Worcester