Letter: Blair's `betrayal'

Sir: The assumption made by the Government seems to be that to motivate single parents to go back to work, you have to make it impossible for them to live unless they do so, and take away their choice of what is best for their young children.

If we believe in supporting and empowering people, we should continue benefit. If the offers of work are good enough and the child care is suitable, many women will take up the offer. That would give single parents the same sorts of choices as the better off. Otherwise, they remain "socially excluded".

VALERIE FAWCETT

Abingdon, Oxfordshire