Niki Adams email to BBC Radio4 Today Programme, 27 October 2011

“I am appalled at John Humphrey's piece on welfare reform Today programme, 27 October 2011. He finished by saying that Beveridge failed to deal with the culture of idleness and this government must deal with the culture of entitlement. What about the right to live free from poverty.

Minimum wage jobs leave people in absolute poverty. Four million children are living in poverty in the UK. The majority (59 per cent) of poor children live in a household where at least one adult works. So work doesn’t prevent grinding and debilitating poverty. And Rev. Paul Nicolson provides chilling figures on how this poverty is going to increase. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/letters/letters-1000-more-doctors-join-call-to-reject-nhs-bill-2369043.html

Children and their mothers will be begging on the street.

I was particularly incensed at his attitude to the single mother who said that she couldn’t find a job that would fit around childcare or cover the costs. Why should she have to take another job? She is already doing the most vital job there is – raising a child.

John Humphreys earns £150,000 a year. That is 3000 a week. And he feels qualified to tell people that they are idle if they refuse to work for a wage that you cannot survive on. Shame on him.”