'Why we need a winter safety net this Christmas'

Christmas lights are up along Wellingborough Road and the fairy lights have reappeared decorating the bandstand of Abington Park, bringing some festive cheer to the second lockdown of 2020 here on the streets of Northampton.

It’s also the time of year when Northamptonshire Community Foundation yet again launches its Winter Wellbeing appeal and asks all those who can afford to do so to forego their winter fuel payment or make a donation. This local generosity provides much needed cash to community groups and charities supporting the most vulnerable older residents and those in supported accommodation to reduce fuel poverty. You can find out more here about how to support the campaign: http://www.ncf.uk.com/give/winter-wellbeing

It goes without say that a pandemic-fuelled 2020 has caused extraordinary difficulty, harsh and tragic circumstances for many: the loss of loved ones to Covid-19, illness, job loss and financial hardship. People on the frontline of local health and care work are understandably exhausted.

Of course the light at the end of the tunnel is the recent Covid-19 vaccine breakthroughs. However, Public Health England has provided a timely warning that any easing of restrictions over the festive period will have seriously negative consequences: senior government health advisors have stated that we will need five extra days of lockdown measures to stop Covid-19 infections spreading for each day they are relaxed. Based on current government thinking of up to five days of relaxation this would mean a further lockdown of 25 days in the New Year.

It is unthinkable that after the sacrifices so many people have gone through this year due to the pandemic to throw that away now by the easing of restrictions. Many folk have got through Diwali, Eid, Yom Kippur without family gatherings. We should not put shielding people at risk. This is a public health crisis.

There are more prescient ways of supporting communities at large right now. For example, the business Home Bargains has announced that it will close on Boxing Day and give staff two weeks’ pay as a ‘Christmas bonus’. The festive period can be a stressful time for many and the best way to support people during a pandemic at this time is surely to first protect their health and, secondly, reduce financial stress.

The New Economics Foundation think tank this week has launched a winter plan for jobs, income and communities to highlight what the government’s thinking should look like if it has everyday folk’s best interests at heart. As people’s lives have been turned upside due to the pandemic, not to mention the financial impact of 10 years of austerity, they are calling for the government to carry out the following: provide a living income to those who need it during the winter; to protect jobs with a guaranteed extended furlough scheme where severe social restrictions are in place, and to create a million new low-carbon jobs and reskill people to take these up in the next 18 months.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, alongside other key charities, is currently campaigning for the government in the upcoming spending review to maintain the £20 uplift on Universal Credit payments which has been a lifeline to many. The campaign also argues for the uplift to extend to those on legacy benefits who missed out on this increase in March of this year.

Turn2Us, the national UK charity tackling poverty, has published a new report which evidences that one in three people have found themselves in debt since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The University of Bristol’s Personal Finance Research Centre has also published a study highlighting that citizens on a low income end up paying a poverty premium of £478 for essentials like energy, credit and insurance.

The best gift we can give everyone over Christmas is health protection and financial security. Saving lives and improving quality of life should trump any political popularity contest. That’s what principled and real leadership would enact.