MY nephew has worked at Hartlepool Remploy for almost 30 years, and has an excellent work record for attendance and timekeeping. The closure of 43 of the Remploy factories is a serious indictment of this money-driven, blinkered Government. It uses the excuse that it needs to subsidise the factories financially.

It has been subsidising wealthy farmers and landowners for decades.

It pays for drug addicted prisoners to obtain heroin while inside and allows them to sue for the most trivial of "hurts" because their "human rights" are infringed.

It keeps those able-bodied that won't work in idleness, sometimes for a lifetime, and makes payments to serial unmarried mothers to attend beauty salons. These are just some of the projects that this Government sees as worthwhile.

Act honestly and responsibly, be a good worker despite a handicap, work 36 hours a week to fund yourself and pay for your family's daily needs and you are expendable.

It is shocking that some charities, particularly Mencap, are backing these closures.

If they think these vulnerable people can just slot into other jobs, they have not had the experience of trying to do this. From experience I know it is just about an impossible task.

Closing these factories is just another example of this Government's ill thought out "plans" that causes chaos and hardship to hardworking families.

Are they going to leave these hard-working people at home bored and isolated and on benefits? A culture that has no respect for the vulnerable members of its society is a society that is ultimately bound to fail.

Ann Elliott, Durham City.