The new tier three restrictions in Lancashire must include a universal basic income to support people through the potentially devastating financial impact of the latest lockdown, the Green Party has warned.
Gina Dowding, Lancashire County Councillor and former Green Party MEP for the North West, said the government should also scrap its failing privatised test and trace system and fund local health teams to carry out contact tracing.
Dowding, who has twenty years of experience as a councillor in Lancaster and Lancashire and who formerly worked in public health in the NHS, said:
“The new tier three restrictions affecting people across Lancashire are unfortunately necessary due to the rising infection rates in the region. However, it is clear they will have a devastating impact on people’s finances and the government’s handling of this crisis in this region has been nowhere near sufficient.
“People are confused and no longer have any trust in what the government is advising them to do. We need our communities to trust and support measures in order to keep everybody safe, but for this to happen communities must also feel supported.
“A universal basic income would help people to do the right thing during lockdown and prevent anyone from falling through the gaps this winter.
“The government should also abandon the disaster of the privatised test and trace system and instead properly fund our expert public health teams in local authorities across the north to perform the contact tracing. They are the experts and we must trust them to do their work.”
ENDS