Watch the piggybank

noelito
2 min readJan 14, 2021

For some people the pandemic has meant they have saved money by not needing to commute or not going to bars, restaurants or other types of entertainment. However, for over a third of people, their income has reduced as a result of the pandemic, often due to losing their job or not having as much business, but also with the cost of essentials going up — whether that’s food or utilities, or paying off debts.

This will create further income inequality, with already over four in ten people classified as financially vulnerable. Councils have quickly organised to provide essentials to those most in need and write off council tax arrears, but as the recession continues, more will need to be done to create ways to help people not only reactively but preventatively, such as through infrastructure like food coops or credit unions.

Many of these people will be facing these issues for the first time. How will they cope?

There may also be many people who will unfortunately have been or will be made redundant due to their businesses or sectors not being as viable anymore due to the restrictions created by the pandemic. Likewise there will be new opportunities being created to meet new needs, like digital platforms to trade local products, localised delivery mechanisms or ways to connect people in open spaces. You could have people with these great ideas who need people to make them happen. How can you connect people who’ve worked for a particular sector all their life with new startups looking for their skills and a different supply chain?

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noelito

Head of Policy Design, Scrutiny & Partnerships @newhamlondon #localgov Co-founder of #systemschange & #servicedesign progs. inspired by @cescaalbanese