THE new Channel 4 series Skint Britain: Friends Without Benefits paints a grim picture of Hartlepool life on the dole under the new welfare reform Universal Credit.

I just wonder how many of the Tory suits who designed Universal Credit actually watched the programme?

I also question why Hartlepool, the worse unemployment black spot in Britain, was chosen as a pilot scheme for this rather nasty welfare reform?

The people of Hartlepool are human beings not guinea pigs, but that is exactly how the Conservative Government has treated them.

Gill Alexander, chief executive of Hartlepool Borough Council has heavily criticised the programme (Echo, Feb 15).

But instead of finding fault over the way Channel 4 has portrayed Universal Credit rollout in Hartlepool I suggest she aims her anger directly at the Conservative Government who brought it here.

As part of the UC claimant commitment job seekers are forced to spend a massive 35 hours a week searching for work or have their benefits deducted.

There’s no possible way on earth to spend 35 hours a week applying for jobs, even in areas of high employment.

As for 35 hours a week job searching in Hartlepool, you’ll be damn lucky to find 35 minutes’ worth of jobs.

Stephen Dixon, Redcar