It’s time to hear more from the Work and Pensions Secretary on coronavirus

Back in 2008 I was a member of the UK government's National Economic Council plotting the Cabinet’s response to the financial crises. Some years before that I served as Minister for Civil Contingencies at the Cabinet Office preparing for pandemics and crises. 

I’ve decided to occasionally post reflections (not criticisms) on the coronavirus. It may feel like a real pressure for the PM, CMO and CSO but they will have to do the hard-yards of daily on-the-record media briefings - other Ministers should never be asked to speak beyond their ´brief’. No other politician other than the PM should speak more widely. The Chancellor's multi-billion ‘whatever it takes’ support for UK businesses is an example of this being done to good effect. 

Our political system usually values Ministers’ individual eccentricities and communications foibles. But amidst a national crisis a Minister who is only 95% right is as dangerous as being completely wrong, and can have deadly consequences. One politician, one scientist and, in time, a single senior expert on each virus priority such as critical national infrastructure or retail. 

Medically the virus will hurt those with underlying health conditions the greatest. Financially it will harm the poorest most. Because of this the next Minister to speak next to the PM in Downing Street should be the Work and Pensions Secretary. Measures taken to-date on Statutory Sick Pay and suspension of face-to face assessments are welcome but are completely inconsequential to the scale of the crisis now engulfing hundreds of thousands of families.

A Labour Party hindered by a prolonged leadership election finds it hard to do what Oppositions should do in these circumstances namely to ‘support and scrutinise’. But there can be no reason for the government’s ponderous welfare response. The Conservative Party now represents some of the poorest constituencies in the country where people are struggling most.

More than a million Britons don’t have a bank account. They already pay more for life’s basics. Contrary to the decades’ long Daily Mail headlines many people on benefits have zero savings, no material wealth whatsoever, completely nothing, limited social capital or power networks. Many of us would sink rather than swim in those conditions. But some are regularly just a couple of days or even hours away from having literally nothing; no money and limited food. And 974,000 people work in zero-hours contracts and easiest to lay-off. These are also the people often furthest from power, the media and politics. The Chancellor’s announcements should protect many, but nowhere near all, from being added to these numbers.

For all of these reasons the next senior Minister we should hear from is the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Modest benefit rates boosts, relaxing means-testing, limited job maintaining subsidies, quicker turnaround on processing benefit applications will be necessary but will not be sufficient. The country must now have a ‘whatever it takes’ approach to welfare. Urgently.