Good evening, When the Government set up the furlough scheme to allow people to be paid even though they were not working it was in hope that companies might be able to turn the key and resume after the coronavirus had disappeared. So from April, millions of people have been paid all or part of their wages because their workplaces were shut down through no fault of their own. Back then, it seemed possible that normal life might resume once we had taken the sting out of Covid-19. But even then, few commentators were suggesting we might be able to pick up exactly where we left off. And so it has proved. The Government’s policy of telling us to stay at home proved so successful that many people are still frightened to go out. Others have found their spending habits have changed and they no longer need to buy as much as they did. Debenhams is the latest company to announce huge job losses. Let’s hope this is not to become the norm..otherwise Covid-19 may have an even longer lasting effect than we thought. Take care, Gillian Parkinson |