PLEASE let me, an OAP, express my concern for health care.

New imposed ‘self-directed help’ payments are presented as buying free choice of care.

But will old, frail people suffering mental and physical deterioration succeed in getting the help they need?

Three million people in this country live below the official poverty line and many elderly people die of cold-related illnesses. In 2011 the count could get higher.

Ordinary people with financial difficulties have overwhelmed CABs and the Blackbird Leys estate’s Agnes Smith Advice Centre for help.

Will the change in shifting budgets to GPs work? The ‘never mind the quality feel the width’ approach will fail. Private assistance is now being sought at the expense of the NHS budget.

The cost of staying in a care home in Oxford could be more than £900 per week, leaving people with the need to sell their house.

Cutbacks, meanwhile, could see inspections reduce, leading to more abuse cases and deaths.

Millions of pounds of unclaimed benefits remain because of governments that have failed the needy. At the same time, MPs have overclaimed on their expenses and betrayed our trust.

JOE RICHARDS, Blackbird Leys, Oxford