The Reader: Address benefits system to avoid crisis of poverty

With the eviction ban, and furlough likely to end, the country is facing a catastrophe of poverty, need and homelessness.

As a benefits adviser I know the system is failing. People are already in council tax debt because Universal Credit has failed as a catch-all benefit. Maximum backdating for all benefits needs to go back to the way it was — 12 months at the very least. We face a bleak future if the Government doesn’t address the benefits system, just as many new claimants join it.

I see little funding going to the advice centres that will pick up the pieces and actually save the UK billions. The country of the blind, eh!
Gary Martin

Dear Gary

The Evening Standard’s homeless campaign highlighted at Christmas how the journey from comfortable employment to a night on the street or sofa-surfing can be terrifyingly short, so you write a timely reminder of the cash crisis facing many after months of income uncertainty, compounded by the furlough scheme expiring within weeks.

The risk of homelessness to renters in arrears is heightened now that landlords can bring eviction proceedings for the first time since March.

With fresh lockdowns looming, the Government must prioritise keeping a roof over generation rent’s heads by telling landlords to be patient a little longer.
Mark Blunden, News Correspondent

Am I alone in finding it strange that senior medical officers are sent to speak to the nation on so important a topic without a trace of the Prime Minister or Health Secretary? In some ways I would be happier if the UK were run by Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, but surely those who won the election should take some responsibility?
Peter Bloxham