A church policy of helping people to stop borrowing from high-interest lenders with the expansion of credit unions is entirely necessary (“Credit to the community”, 2 August). It is, however, a policy of leaving the stable door ajar while increasing numbers of horses are bolting. It will take decades even to stop the number of high-interest loans increasing while politicians continue to create unmanageable council tax and rent arrears for low-income households and enforce them against diminishing incomes with the addition of court costs and bailiffs’ fees. Catherine Pepinster (2 August) cites Amartya Sen, who holds that we act with justice if we remove obstacles to living a valuable life; sadly British politics, by failing to provide a policy for affordable housing