THE idea that unemployed benefit claimants have to spend thirty five hours per week searching for jobs during an economic recession in order to receive their benefit payments is ridiculous.

Even starter jobs such as working in coffee shops regularly have over a hundred people applying per position. The idea that there are lots of jobs out there is utter rubbish. The Tories have stitched unemployed people up by claiming that the amount of money spent on benefits is the highest of all social spending, when in actual fact it makes up only around 2% of the total spend.

If we want to get benefit payments down in a realistic way that is geared toward people and not private profit then we need to cap the rents of the many rip off landlords up and down the country. This will bring the cost of the housing benefits bill, and instead of taxpayers footing the cost of low wages through working tax credits, let the company directors and CEO's pay their staff properly for the work that they do.

Steve Jones

Morris Green