Dear Sir,
In reply to the letter do we need food banks? The answer is YES, people do and the majority are ashamed and do not flaunt it like the woman mentioned. The author has made the common blinkered assumption, that if one cheats then all must do the same.
I am 53, a disabled widow. At present I receive ESA, but due to the government’s 365 day rule this will stop soon. I shall then be entitled to £71 a week in benefit, in total, nothing else! This is despite the fact I have limited mobility and take morphine for constant severe pain. The government’s nonsensical Work Capability Assessments have deemed me fit for work despite my doctor, consultants and physiotherapist disagreeing.
£71 a week will not cover my household bills and I will be left with no money at all for food, if not for the support of my family.
This is not unusual. People apply for benefits due to illness and redundancy and can have weeks without money while being assessed. Punative sanctions can take away benefits for weeks on end.
I worked and paid my taxes but now am unable to despite wanting to work. We are not scroungers, just victims of this government’s unfair policy of penalising the ill, disabled and those out of work through no fault of their own.
Name & address supplied