YP Letters: Catch 22 for those needing to find home

From: Rev Dr Ralph Catts, Pastor, Hull Unitarians.
Is the Universal Credit system fair? (JPress).Is the Universal Credit system fair? (JPress).
Is the Universal Credit system fair? (JPress).

THE new ‘Universal’ Credit system discriminates against those in most need. I base my claim on the following that I have in writing from the DWP.

A person ‘is not eligible to claim Universal Credit because she is homeless’. The advice is that if you are homeless, ‘there is no state assistance’.

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In case you missed it or cannot believe it, I reiterate the advice, which is that the state provides zero assistance for a homeless person.

There is a long waiting list for social housing and, in any case, it will only be provided to a homeless person if the person has the means to pay for their rent. That means if unemployed or ‘under-employed’, one needs access to Universal Credit to apply for social housing, but until one has a permanent address, one cannot apply for Universal Credit.

This is a Catch 22 merry-go-round, but there is nothing merry in this situation for the victims of this abrogation of responsibility by the Government.

Through our local MP, I asked that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (David Gauke) let me know what could be done for a person in this ‘Catch 22’ situation, and six weeks later there is no reply.

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The departmental office in Hull, as well as answering my questions in writing, has explained to me that they are bound by the regulations, so clearly this issue is in the hands of the Government, and the Secretary of State has not responded. It is the season for ‘goodwill’, but as far as the Government is concerned, this does not seem to include homeless people. I hope that fellow citizens will be as appalled as I am by this inhumane treatment of people who are vulnerable.

Costly class warfare

From: Harry Brooke, Meanwood, Leeds.

Labour used to be an honourable party, which stood up for the rights of working-class people. Now it just seems to be all extreme leftists and Communists, full of class hatred. They want to clobber the City of London financiers, who admittedly pay themselves over-generous bonuses, but contribute about £70 billion a year in taxes.

When the last Labour government departed, they left a note to say: ‘sorry, there’s no money left!’ They’re like kids in a sweetshop saying: ‘What’ll we try next?’

From Peter Hyde, Driffield.

The more I watch BBC TV the more I am convinced that they are in the pocket of the left wing of the Labour Party.

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Even the programme Have I Got News For You seems to concentrate on mocking the Conservatives. The presumption that the BBC should be, and is, impartial is a mockery of the truth.

Sold a poor deal on Brexit

From: John Cole, Oakroyd Terrace, Baildon.

I believe that laws around consumer protection frequently contain the phrases that goods and services sold must be of ‘merchantable quality’ and ‘fit for purpose’.

For months now the UK government has struggled pathetically trying to work its way to a post-Brexit outcome that is an improvement on our current arrangements with the other 27 EU members.

The bottom line is that it ain’t going to happen.

The economics profession is uniquely united (95 per cent) in arguing that the best deal that can be imagined is still going to make us worse off than we otherwise should have been – and we are nowhere near getting a deal of that quality.

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In fact what is emerging is a series of thoroughly bodged “solutions” that are held together by string and gaffer tape. In short, they will never be “fit for purpose” nor “of merchantable quality”.

The British public, like any consumer who has been on the wrong end of mis-selling, needs to have the opportunity to reject a poor deal and vote to remain within the EU.

From: Barry Crowther, Walton, Wakefield.

If the Conservative negotiators think they have secured a good Brexit deal I would like to see what they think a bad one is like. The status quo remains on migration, trade, law, fishing, etc.

We continue paying in our annual fee and, for this privilege, we pay a lump sum of near £40 billion. Some deal.

Christmas’s true faith

From: Mrs SM Abbott, Melbourne Road, Wakefield.

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Just to say as we are now in Advent, and many of you are probably enjoying seeing little ones in Nativity plays, that Christmas is a Christian festival and should be celebrated as such.

Recently the BBC had people of different faiths sharing their views on Christmas.

I have no problem with that, but why wasn’t a Christian 
asked to speak about their faith and what Christmas meant to them?

For me and many others Jesus is the Light of the World whose birth is celebrated at this time of year, so no “Happy Holiday” or “Happy Winterval” but Happy Christmas!