Heroes and villains from 2020, the year of the pandemic - Greg Wright

We live in the strangest of days, a point reinforced as I drove one of my relatives home from hospital through the deserted roads of Wharfedale on Monday evening.

The streets were without the familiar hum of traffic or a trace of festive spirit, despite the Christmas lights twinkling through dozens of windows. It was surreal. The pandemic had stripped away all signs of normal public life. Humanity has beaten a collective retreat.

It’s not the first time in history that the population has been ordered to batten down the hatches. But unlike, say, the wartime Blitz, the pandemic has forced people apart, rather than brought them together.

We have been pinned down by an invisible enemy. The human cost has been appalling. Apart from the terrible death toll, thousands of people have seen their health wrecked by the long term impact of Covid-19. The unemployment rate has hit levels we all hoped we would never see again.

More people were made redundant between August and October than at any point on record as the pandemic hammered the labour market. Unemployment in the UK increased to 4.9% in October, up from 4.8% in the previous month.

Sectors such as the arts and hospitality have suffered potentially mortal blows. Theatres remain locked and silent. Simple pastimes such as heading out on a whim to watch sport became impossible.

But there have been plenty of heroes in 2020. They include the frontline medical and retail workers who donned PPE like knights heading into battle, knowing full well they were potentially exposing themselves to the virus every day.

At least 206 frontline health and care workers have been identified after dying with coronavirus.

In the first weeks of the crisis, my inbox was straining under the weight of messages from bosses at Yorkshire firms of all shapes and sizes who had decided to “pivot” to help fight the pandemic.

Manufacturing firms volunteered to build ventilators. Business and voluntary groups joined forces to supply face masks to care homes. The response showed that a crisis can bring out the very best in all of us.

The pandemic must lead to a fundamental re-assessment of the nature and value of work. Suddenly, workers stacking hospital shelves became worth their weight in gold, especially when their patience was tested by the stupidity and selfishness of panic buyers.

For weeks, Britons emerged from their homes to clap for the frontline NHS heroes who were being asked to bear the brunt of fighting the pandemic. But this outpouring of support posed an obvious question: Are NHS staff being paid enough?

Earlier this year, I introduced you to Jennifer, a health worker who is one of thousands of people affected by the loan charge, which has left honest people on modest incomes with life-changing bills.

Jennifer said she is being asked to stump up £99,777 in connection with the charge, which she hopes she can persuade HMRC to allow her to settle over 10 years. She had previously been advised to use an umbrella company while engaged on an interim role.

When faced with the looming threat of the charge, did Jennifer’s umbrella company warn her about the risk to her financial wellbeing? Hardly.

The umbrella firm told her its planning was “sufficiently robust to be able to withstand any and all scrutiny from HMRC”. This message was sent in 2017, despite the fact the loan charge was announced by the Government in 2016.

Over the summer, HMRC said it had become aware of promoters of tax avoidance schemes targeting workers returning to the NHS to help tackle the pandemic. HMRC has vowed to confront the problem.

So if you’re seeking villains, I would point the finger at the unscrupulous bosses of the companies which are mis-selling schemes to health professionals who have placed their lives at risk during the biggest health crisis of modern times.

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers. Let’s hope for better days in 2021.

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