What to do when the Covid cash runs out...

With coronavirus support about to come to an end, our new finance columnist Andy Webb offers advice to those most in need...

IF YOU take a date as a sign everything is OK, then September 30, 2021 suggests everything is back to normal pre-pandemic levels. This is the date that the Coronavirus Job Support Scheme, AKA furlough, ends.

The Government-subsidised wages initiative has been a lifeline for so many people. Yet, for some, there will be no back to normal. When the final trickle of Treasury cash stops there will still be some who don’t go back to work. Some whose livelihood isn’t back to the levels of March 2020.

Finding a replacement job won’t always be easy (it’d be great if becoming an HGV driver was suitable for all). So what do you do if even the furlough cash dries up?

Well, don’t ignore benefits which could help in the short or long term. For vital resources on support you might be able to claim, go to entitledto.co.uk or turn2us.org.uk.

A week later, there’s another big change. Research shows that the expected £20 a week cut to Universal Credit (UC) on October 6 is going to push a huge number of people into poverty. One study by Citizens Advice says 2.3million people will go into the red as a result.

The temporary uplift of £86.87 a month was just one of the raft of measures introduced along with the furlough scheme. The money provided by UC is far lower than furlough cash, and for workers who missed out on that (including the self-employed and freelancers), it’s been barely enough to get by.

When this extra cash is gone, it’s likely food budgets will be one of the hardest hit. I’m sure you’ll agree that no one should be going hungry in 21st century Britain. But they will.

The Trussell Trust estimates 900,000 people will need to visit a food bank after this drop in benefits.

Head to trusselltrust.org to find a food bank local to you – either to collect or donate essential groceries and toiletries.