ES Views: At least the Chancellor got his focus on housing right

It is good to see the Chancellor’s focus on the importance of housing in this week’s Budget. We know through our work with some of the most disadvantaged people across the country that having a safe and secure home is central to someone’s chances and opportunities in life. But too often high rents, insecure tenancies or a lack of deposit mean this is simply out of reach.

We are therefore pleased to see the Government’s £20million commitment to eliminating rough sleeping and establish a homelessness taskforce, as well as consulting on the barriers to longer tenancies and giving funding to support rents for people at risk of homelessness.

We must now ensure that a comprehensive housing strategy is put in place for vulnerable people building on today’s announcements.
Jacob Tas, chief executive, Nacro

In his Budget, the Chancellor committed £20million to establishing a Homelessness Reduction Taskforce and to support schemes to end rough-sleeping by 2027. At the same time he is setting aside an extra £3billion “to prepare for Brexit”.

If the Government is serious about ending the poverty crisis in this country, why not spend the £3billion on the homeless right now? That way we can have a country where no one is forced to sleep on the street or depend on food banks.
Stephen Davis

Having already turned us into the world’s slowest-growing developed economy, any doubts that Brexit will ruin the UK were laid to rest in this week’s Budget. It took account of the vast reductions in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s growth forecasts based on our dismal productivity and the negative impact Brexit will have on our finances.

We were told the economy would benefit hugely from quitting the EU but now it appears that the belt must be tightened, even though the public sector is in crisis. If you think the current situation is bad, wait until the EU loses patience and casts us adrift with no deal.
Rev Dr John Cameron

Once more we rearrange the “debt chairs” on our Titanic of an economy. By 2020 the national debt will have doubled to £2trillion in a period of just 10 years.

Looking back, the 2008 financial crisis was just an excuse for excessive government expenditure and this exercise in “having our cake and eating it” is exemplified by the fact that we will not pay tax on £11,850 of earnings and only qualify for the higher rate at £46,350 per annum. Politically, changing course is out of the question, so we will sail on regardless of the icebergs ahead.
R McCauley

Forces veterans can plug skills gap

Government funding to bridge the UK’s industrial skills gap is welcome but this alone is not a solution. The skills gap costs the UK more than £2billion a year because of the Government’s misguided approach. The gap will not be bridged by apprentices or students alone.

The British Legion estimates that there are more than 120,000 unemployed exservice personnel in the UK. Helping these veterans into industrial sector employment would help address the skills crisis. More employers should introduce initiatives to help our veterans and the Government must provide funding for these schemes. Without it, the skills gap will only continue to grow.
Matt Collins

Be patient with us over the Piccadilly line

I apologise to customers on the Piccadilly line for the problems they have experienced this week. Our engineers work hard to resolve these issues but we know we must do more.

We are investing tens of millions of pounds into an interim upgrade of the signalling system on the line to boost reliability, and a huge modernisation programme will transform the line in the mid-2020s, with new generation trains and more reliable services.

Until then, we will strive to ensure the service is as reliable as possible for the millions of customers who use the Piccadilly line each year.
Mike Smith, head of line operations for the Piccadilly line

Amadeo Modigliani was not like Harvey Weinstein

William Moore asserts that Amedeo Modigliani was the “Harvey Weinstein of his day” [Notebook, November 22]. However, Weinstein has amassed a huge fortune and for decades could make or break the film careers of aspiring stars.

Contrast this to the impoverished Modigliani, who died of tuberculosis at 36 and had no commercial success in his lifetime. Modigliani may have been “cruel to women” but that doesn’t allow for a facile comparison with Weinstein.
A Halper

Veganism is about choices not diets

A sharp rise in converts to the vegan lifestyle appears to be the result of widespread campaigning regarding the environment, health and more humane consideration of non-human animals. This can only be a positive development. However, the latter is paramount for all genuine vegans.

Animals are seen as mere objects to those who breed them as food, and this was confirmed by a calf processing scheme a few years ago. A slaughterhouse lorry of tiny bull calves arrived and were checked by a vet to make sure they were healthy before they died.

After stunning, they were shackled on the slaughter line. However, they weren’t allowed to be used as human food, meaning these babies only died to be rendered into bonemeal and animal feed. The only crime these tiny calves committed was to be born.

Those who want to be vegan must understand that this is a lifestyle based on choices, not merely a diet.
Bernie Wright Alliance for Animal Rights