Letter: Hitting the poor

Friday 12 February 1999 01:02 GMT

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Sir: "Encourage" lone parents back into work? Surely "coerce", "bully", or even "terrorise" are far more appropriate.

Until the Social Security system is reformed from the inside out there will be no such thing as "encouraging" people back into work. The low morale and cynicism that exists among frontline DSS staff provokes an attitude of "them" against "us" between claimants and staff, making the process of signing on feel more like a Gestapo interrogation than any act of "encouragement".

DAVID ROSE

London WC1

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Letter: Hitting the poor

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