Don’t blame OAPs for bank queues So many empty homes is a disgrace

I BELIEVE Mr Bainbridge’s article (May 3) displays an intolerance of pensioners. He isn’t alone; younger people occasionally do. We should not be endorsing intolerence but encouraging unity, in all fields of life. If he visited a bank at any time, other than lunchtime, he would realise that queuing is a problem at any time of day. His assumption that pensioners have the whole of the working day available to them implies they have nothing to do with their time. In the real world, most pensioners lead very active lives, filling their available time productively. A lot of them care for their grandchildren (in order that their working parents can visit the bank at lunchtime). Internet banking is out of reach for many retired people who have no alternative but to physically visit the bank. Don’t blame pensioners for bank queues. It’s the banks who have created the problem by closing sub-branches, necessitating a concentration of customers to one place. And, when else do pensioners, who care for their grandchildren Monday to Friday, do their shopping? May I suggest to Mr Bainbridge that he could avoid the frustration of Saturday shopping by going on a Sunday, when senior citizens are respecting the Sabbath. Frank Harrison Coundon RE: There being more than 1,360 houses and flats empty in Coventry for at least six months in 2017 (Apr 23).

This is a big disgrace and needs to be improved to help the homeless. Ian Harris Radford well run under the leadership of Dr Martin Reeves, chief executive of the city council, and Mrs Liz Read, who heads the electoral services team. I am very grateful to my good friends Councillor Marcus Lapsa and Councillor Tim Mayer; to students from Warwick and Nottingham Universities; and to the numerous people in the Conservative Party and outside who helped in so many ways. Above all, I thank the residents of Westwood ward who so kindly supported me. It is a personal honour to serve them in this way and I shall take the duties very seriously indeed. Councillor David Skinner (Con) Westwood Ward