"The fear is unbearable": Three million are excluded from financial government support in pandemic

A number of groups of individuals and small businesses feel they have 'fallen through the cracks' and are not eligible for financial support during the pandemic.
Lynn Thomas, 55, from Kirkham, is the founder of LHT Consulting LtdLynn Thomas, 55, from Kirkham, is the founder of LHT Consulting Ltd
Lynn Thomas, 55, from Kirkham, is the founder of LHT Consulting Ltd

On March 20, Chancellor Rishi Sunak first announced the packages put in place to support people’s incomes through the pandemic, stating they were “unprecedented measures for unprecedented times".

ExcludedUK was an organisation established to represent those in society who fell short of government funding, including the newly self-employed, those who can't claim self-employment income support because more than 50 per cent of their income is from PAYE, newly employed people who started after March 19 and those who were denied furlough pay because of zero-hour contracts, maternity leave or those shielding.

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Lynn Thomas, 55, from Kirkham, is the founder of LHT Consulting Ltd, a limited company that offers executive and leadership coaching and business analysis.

Lynn fears she could lose her home and her businessLynn fears she could lose her home and her business
Lynn fears she could lose her home and her business

She fears she could lose her home and her business that took her seven long years to build because of the shortfall in financial support from the government.

She said: "You would think that a business analyst could find work but lockdown meant that the jobs have gone.

"I worked briefly at the North West Nightingale in June and since then, had no other income, only the director’s furlough of approximately £500 month. I do not have a partner and no-one to share the burden with.

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"I have a hefty mortgage and I might lose the house. The fear is unbearable - the fear of family catching Covid19, the fear of becoming homeless, the fear of shutting down my business that has taken me seven years to build. I do not sleep at night due to nightmares, worry and panic and it has stripped me of my confidence.

Limited and small business owners are among those excluded from bail outsLimited and small business owners are among those excluded from bail outs
Limited and small business owners are among those excluded from bail outs

"The situations are real, we deserve a minimum level of support in line with what everyone else has received. I perceive it as psychological abuse, can you imagine to watch others buy new cars, go on holiday, and eat out on the vouchers and know how much has been spent on bad contracts when the excluded are struggling with mental health?

"This is not the Britain that we can be proud of."

And workers on maternity, parental and adoption leave have too, faced the harsh reality of being cash strapped during the pandemic.

One of the key issues facing new parents is affording safe childcare for their babies due to the risk presented by Covid-19, meaning many were not able to return to work and missing essential maternity and adoption health care support.

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ExcludedUK is urging the government to recognise what they believe to be 'unfairness and disparities' from the exclusions in Covid-19 financial support schemes.

In data analysis carried out by ExludedUK between May and June, they concluded that three million taxpayers have fallen short of help including those not eligible for the coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS) and the self-employment income support scheme (SEISS).

And according to the National Audit Office, up to 2.9 million people across the country were excluded from the support schemes depending on their circumstances.

Tracy Bedwell, 51, runs a small limited company, Sales Training International Ltd from Ormskirk and has been ineligible for any support except for the bounce back loan - which will have to be repaid in the future.

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Her turnover is at just 20 per cent of what it was this time last year, and she has had to sell her own car for extra income.

She said: "Most of us are one-man bands and there are millions of us in this situation. We think of ourselves as self-employed and first thought I would be eligible for the self-employed support scheme but it came apparent that directors of small limited companies were not included.

"The only option we had was to furlough ourselves, but if we did that then we wouldn't have been allowed to do any work at all because nobody would have been running our company and we could've lost the business.

"After the lockdown, all my business just cancelled over night. We operate from a home office so were not eligible for any grants, and I couldn't claim universal credit because they classed me as being self-employed. I feel like I am on a hamster wheel going round and round.

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"One half of the government class us as self-employed and the other half don't, so the only option was to take out a bounce-back loan which needs paying back.

"I don't think people realise how difficult this has been. We are not all big fat cat directors with huge investment income, we are people struggling. I am in my 50s and have had to resort to asking my own parents for money. There is just no end in sight for me.

"Every time we saw Boris on the TV we were told we would get grants and that no one would be left behind, but that has not been the case. I have been working all my life since I was 16 and haven't seen any income since March. Noone in this world can last for a year with nothing, but we are expected to do that."

Aron Padley, of ExcludedUK, said: “Chancellor Rishi Sunak continues to ignore the stories of hardship. We are facing a mental health crisis like never before, which is the result of financial despair. The fact that it was all so easily avoidable makes it tough to swallow.

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“Nothing has changed. The eligibility criteria are exactly the same. Seven months on, many people in our group are now in a dark, dark place. Many people have lost everything.

“The government has turned its back on 3 million people who have paid into the system all their lives, who are hard workers, risk-takers and employ people. They are in crisis.”

Anneka Hicks, ExcludedUK founder, said: “For eight months the chancellor has refused to provide a considerable chunk of the working population with fair and equal financial support, which, based on a recent survey has led to one in five of our community now at risk of losing their homes.

"The situation upon us is incredibly desperate and we care passionately about the welfare of our community which has led us needing to partner with a number of charities to ensure we’re able to offer our members the urgent support and advice they need, so we are delighted to be working with StepChange.”

For more information, visit the ExcludedUK website.

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