We are a caring society

We are a caring society

13:59 PM, 22nd July 2019, About 5 years ago

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When travelling back from Canterbury (Friday 19th July, 2019) I stopped at a small rural shop to purchase a cold drink to abate the heat. A customer spoke to me about a Documentary I had appeared in and told me that he was none too impressed by the criticism aimed at me of not taking people on benefits. He, like the vast majority, said that he did not feel as a tax payer that it was his job to fund people on benefits.

I did say I appreciated that and it was a bit different for me as I had so many houses, but the problem was with the Delivery of Housing Benefit. There are some excellent ladies, single mums on housing benefit, a good number who are battered wives. But for the poor delivery of housing benefit they would be excellent tenants.

Prior to 2014 I would say I specialised in battered wives and single Mums (I did have the odd single Dad). As a category they were excellent. However, that is a thing of the past.

The gentleman moved to Dementia which is very topical and the sale of houses to fund care and to the provision of housing for elderly people and disabled people.

This is not something for the Private Sector Landlord (PSL). A new entrant struggles to get his money together to buy the average house which is two up, two down, mid-terrace. Specialist housing is not the realm of the PSL who deals with General Needs housing. A two bed, mid terrace house is, of course, the basic bed and butter house of the average PSL who owns just one house.

We are a caring society. We look after our disabled people and the elderly. It is extremely costly for Central Government to do so, but all it can do is throw money at it. It is a burden on the tax payer, but a very necessary burden.

Have you noticed that when the referendum was held in 2016 there were three main concerns for the public at large?

These were 1) Housing 2) Employment 3) Immigration. Now there is only Housing!

Fergus Wilson


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