Readers respond to the news that people in the UK are spending fewer years in good health than a decade ago

A major cause of the fall in healthy life expectancy ( People in UK spend fewer years in good health than a decade ago, study finds, 27 April ) is austerity and the continued cuts to social and health spending. In our report Still Digging Deeper: The Impact of Austerity on Inequalities and Deprivation in the Coalfield Areas, which covers Scotland, England and Wales for the period 1984-2024, we highlight how public expenditure cuts since 1984 have disproportionately impacted coalfield areas of the UK.

Since 2010, austerity has been stepped up, and we have calculated that welfare reforms and benefit cuts amounted to £32.6bn over the period of 2010-21. Furthermore, in 2025-26 coalfield local authorities had a combined funding gap of £447m. These are areas where a significant proportion of the working-age population is affected by long-term sickness and experiences poverty.

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Jan Shapiro calls for a searching examination of the assumptions and culture that shape practice across the Send system. Plus Mary Smith sets readers and journalists a challenge based on her granddaughter’s revision sheet

Your report highlights the impact of the inadequate funding of special educational needs and disabilities provision ( Schools forced to cut back on support for Send pupils in England, poll finds, 23 April ). However, this moment should prompt not just concern about diminishing support, but a more fundamental examination of the system that produces these pressures in the first place.

I lead a school with a significantly higher-than-average proportion of disadvantaged pupils with Send. For us, inclusion is not an add-on but a commitment embedded in relationships and practice. The issue is not solely financial. It is also about approach, language, culture and what schools are incentivised to value. Without that foundation, increased funding alone will not deliver what our Send children need.

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Prof Amy Dickman, Prof Adam Hart, Dr Dan Challender and Dr Dilys Roe say trophy hunting benefits lions and many other species by conserving more land in Africa than national parks do

The reason that trophy hunting bans have repeatedly stalled in parliament ( Letters, 26 April ) is because they are misinformed, hypocritical, ignore the rights and welfare of local communities, and would harm, not help, conservation.

Campaigners should decide if bans are about morality or conservation. If the former, the UK should ban domestic trophy hunting of red deer, for example, but this has never been suggested. If it is about conservation, ministers should recognise that trophy hunting is not a key threat to lions or any other species. Indeed, it benefits lions and other species by conserving more land in Africa than national parks do. Biodiversity is far more threatened by habitat loss, which bans are likely to amplify by reducing income for protected areas. Hunting areas are usually not viable for photo-tourism, which brings its own issues of environmental impact.

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Readers respond to Polly Hudson’s article decrying physical contact on meeting friends or strangers

I’ve just read Polly Hudson’s piece about shaking hands and I disagree ( Teenagers are calling time on the handshake. I salute them, from a safe distance, theguardian.com, 26 April ). A hand contact is an open gesture, a mark of trust. It is meant to transmit our humanity. Being human is about learning to connect with each other and that can mean leaving our comfort zone, making the first step – or proffering the first hand – towards a stranger. That first encounter may lead nowhere, or it may be the beginning of an enriching relationship. Either way, to deprive yourself of all those possibilities because of hygiene worries would be so sad. Polly, you could always carry hand sanitiser in your pocket, but please be discreet when using it.
Priscilla Packer
Les Ponts de Cé, France

• I can understand how Polly Hudson feels about greeting someone with physical contact. A handshake is not a hug, kiss or curtsey. It is a simple greeting, with the hand extended and a direct look at who you want to meet and converse with. The contact shows an appreciation for each other not shown by a fist or elbow bump. I find women I meet at work and socially are very comfortable with a handshake rather than any other greeting. It is true that the initial contact with someone defines the rest of the relationship, both good and bad.
James Tuson
Hertford

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Vehicle was travelling through Juvisy-sur-Orge when it veered off the road into the river

Four people have been rescued from the Seine near Paris after a bus driven by a trainee driver collided with a parked vehicle before plunging into the river.

The bus was travelling through the town of Juvisy-sur-Orge, south-east of the French capital, on Thursday when it veered off the road into the Seine, prosecutors said.

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Cole Tomas Allen, 31, allegedly stormed the White House correspondents’ association dinner and is being held as case proceeds

The man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump by rushing the black-tie press gala in Washington DC at the weekend where the US president was a guest, agreed on Thursday to remain in custody while his federal criminal case moves forward.

The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen , 31, was not planning immediately to contest prosecutors’ arguments that he was a danger to the community and should remain in jail, his attorney, Tezira Abe, said during a federal court hearing in the capital.

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A new reboot of the 1999 horror hit will now feature two of the original stars and the directing team as executive producers

The reboot of The Blair Witch Project will now boast those involved with the original as producers after they voiced their frustration.

The 1999 indie smash was made for $35,000 but made $248m, becoming one of the most profitable films ever made.

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The World Press Freedom Index, which assessed 180 countries, finds established journalism is ‘being asphyxiated’

Press freedom around the world is at its lowest ebb in a generation, according to an influential annual index that highlights growing authoritarian pressure on the media.

The average score for the 180 countries assessed by the World Press Freedom Index , compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), was the lowest in the index’s 25-year history.

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