I FELT compelled to write following the recent articles and letters in the previous week’s papers regarding the local council’s decision to close our schools when the NATO conference will potentially be disrupting transport both in and around the county, when it takes place at The Celtic Manor, Newport.

To the onlooker it could appear both opportunistic and cynical (which I am sure politicians are not) for the elected Conservative members Andrew Davies and Alun Cairns to criticise the Labour council when their nationally elected minority government party has decided to cancel signing appointments for all Jobseekers claimants at effected Jobcentres across South Wales, this potentially could cost us taxpayers thousands/millions of pounds as claimants who may not be entitled to benefit will automatically get paid without the need to declare what they have or have not done to receive our hard earned tax returns.

Additionally, staff in local jobcentres will be sat there unoccupied as they will not be seeing their usual claimant volumes, so again us taxpayers will have a double whammy where we are also paying for civil servants to go to work and be prevented from carrying out their duties by their Whitehall minions.

In these times of austerity, it is ridiculous to prevent our public servants from providing their support and guidance to those most at need of finding employment and presenting themselves as being untouchable by the real would in their ivory towers.

Name and address supplied