Use the Budget to help end homelessness

sir – This week’s Budget gives the Chancellor Rishi Sunak the perfect opportunity to bring us closer to ending homelessness for good.

Recent commitments on tackling rough sleeping are welcome, but homelessness does not start and end with people sleeping on our streets. Years of frozen housing benefit, rising rents and a lack of genuinely affordable and social housing mean that more and more people are unable to afford their rent, and lose their home.

The Government’s decision to increase housing benefit in line with inflation is not enough. Homelessness will be eradicated only if we work together to prevent it from happening in the first place. It is crucial that the Chancellor announces investment in housing benefit in the Budget so that it once again covers at least the lowest third of rents. Not only will this ensure families have the immediate security of being able to keep their homes, but it is essential if the Government is to meet its aim of ending rough sleeping within this Parliament. Anything less is simply unacceptable. Jon Sparkes

Chief executive, Crisis Polly Neate

Chief executive, Shelter Gavin Smart

Chief executive, Chartered Institute of Housing Richard Lambert

National Landlords Association and five others; see telegraph.co.uk

sir – Tom Rees’s report (Business, March 6) on launching a start-up in Britain underestimates costs when a lease is taken out on premises and stamp duty is often unforeseen.

When the net present value of £125,000 is exceeded, a 1 per cent stamp duty land tax bill can amount to thousands of pounds.

Stamp duty is an iniquitous tax, but to impose it on a struggling entrepreneur is totally unfair.

R W Carlton-porter

Bath, Somerset