Financial Matters

With Akwasi Duodu | akwasi@sterlingandlaw.com | www.sterlingandlaw.com

Five lessons to be learned from the pandemic

It’s been a miserable few months for some and for others, it’s been downright ugly. Lockdown, working from home, physical distancing, new words like “furlough”, redundancies, loneliness, and worldwide losses on the stockmarket. Most businesses have suffered and some may never recover. But worst of all, there has been death, all around us, with over 30,000 people losing their lives. I won’t speak too soon but it appears the worst is over, and we might be returning to some sort of normality in the coming months. If anything good were to come out of this, it might be that this crisis has given us the opportunity to reflect and learn some hard lessons. Here are five of the lessons I have learned from the world of financial advice.

1) Have a rainy-day fund

The first and most important lesson I have learned from this crisis is how important it is to have a rainy-day fund available. Rainy day money would mean a sum of money that could keep you and your family going for six months. Our “rainy day” is here and those who have managed to save some money would be extremely thankful for their foresight, especially those who have lost their jobs.

2) Make sure you are adequately insured

No one insures themselves against a pandemic – in fact, I don’t believe such insurance exists for ordinary people. However, this crisis highlights how important it is to be adequately insured. We now know that the world we know can change in a matter of days, and how the rug can be pulled from beneath us with scarcely any warning. Make sure you are insured against mishaps that are out of your control.

3) Some of the things we take for granted are precious

I’ll put the marvellous NHS as number one here. My friends who live in America have been terrified of getting ill because the astronomical cost of healthcare could quite easily cause one to go

bankrupt. We have the NHS! What a blessing! Travel, meeting friends for a meal, going to the pub, hugging the ones you love, visiting family, shopping, going to the gym, taking your health for granted – even going to work. Some of these things have been taken away from us and sadly, in some respects, life may never be the same again. It is fair to say that we are almost spoilt in the Western world. The time has come to appreciate what we have.

4) Stay invested

Some people panicked and transferred their stocks and shares ISAs and pensions to cash as a safe haven during the market downturn. Those who timed it badly would have crystallised losses of up to 25% by moving to cash. When the market rallied sharply – although not quite to previous levels, those who were out of the market could not participate in the spectacular returns that those who stayed in were getting. Lesson learned; if your investments are long term, stay invested.

5) Out of adversity comes opportunity

I’ve seen many people use this crisis as an opportunity to innovate. From the dry cleaner who decided to make facemasks to the gym that decided to go virtual and hold training sessions and classes online. From the tech companies who have made a killing by developing virtual meeting software to the small company that bought up China’s unused PPE equipment and shipped the lot to Africa. I had never heard of Zoom before the crisis, yet everyone has heard of Zoom now. Lesson learned; out of crisis comes opportunity. All it takes is fast fingers on your computer and the ability to think outside the box. Stay safe!

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meets on the last Wednesday of every month.

During lockdown, we are holding our meetings virtually using Zoom.

Find out how to register for FREE at: www.cookingwithscissors.com | e-mail: sbn@ cookingwithscissors.com Next Meeting: Wednesday 24 June - 8.15pm prompt

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Thursday 11 June: Webinar: Time for reflection:

Focus on our values- 7pm. Led by Tracy from Way to Wellbeing, this explores looking at how to define your values and how to take steps towards a more meaningful life given the last few months which has been a time to stop and reflect and notice what is important in our life.

www.bellhouse.co.uk.

Wednesday 17 June: Protect your baby: Q&A session about vaccinations Tuesday 23 June: Webinar: How to deal with change

The only constant in life, 7pm. Led by Tracy from Way to Wellbeing, this will look at how our heads and hearts deal with change and tools you can utilise to manage change positively.

www.bellhouse.co.uk.

Photo: Simon Lunn / Great North Woods

7.30pm-8.15pm. Get answers to your questions about vaccinations for your baby with paediatrician Dr David Elliman in this online Q&A session.

Vaccination is one of the best ways of protecting the health of young children. Most parents accept having these as part of normal childcare. However, some parents have questions they would like answering before they go ahead. This Q&A session will look at some of the common questions (what’s in vaccines; can vaccines cause immune overload; why do we give vaccines to very young babies; what about homeopathy) and give you an opportunity to ask your own.

www.bellhouse.co.uk

Laugh Train Comedy Nights

We are your local comedy club (Laugh Train Home) and are doing ZOOM comedy nights every Tuesday, 8-9pm. June 2nd: COMEDY FOR THE CURIOUS: Host Robyn Perkins (Sydney Fringe Comedy Award Winner) asked the big, small and stupid life questions, and tries to explain them with science. She is joined by Jen Brister (Live at the Apollo) and Jacob James Garcia.

June 9th: Straight Stand-Up ft. SINDHU VEE (Live at the Apollo), Matt Green, one act TBD, plus host Robyn Perkins(Sydney Fringe 2019 Comedy Award Winner)! June 16th: COMEDY FOR THE CURIOUS: Host Robyn Perkins (Sydney Fringe Comedy Award Winner) asked the big, small and stupid life questions, and tries to explain them with science. She is joined by Nathan Caton (Live at the Apollo) and one act TBD!

You now need a ticket (£5) which you can get on DMN. Full details at www.designmynight.com.

Wednesday 24 June: Cooking with Scissors – Via Zoom

An opportunity for local business professionals to meet, make new contacts and gain new business. To find out more or register your interest in attending, please email:

sbn@cookingwithscissors.co.uk.

Kesar & Co SOLICITORS

No longer an Act of Care?

The coronavirus pandemic has affected all our lives, usually for the worse. Public authorities are no exception. The strain which the virus places upon public services has led to a roll-back of services which the Government offers to the public. Adult social care has been targeted as an area where local authorities might be exposed to resource pressure.

Care Act Duties

Where people have disabilities, which causes them to experience difficulty in achieving daily tasks, local authorities have powers and duties to offer packages of services.

The Care Act 2014 places legal duties on local authorities to assist those having difficulty living life independently within the authority’s local area. These include duties to assess and meet the care and support needs of adults, and carers where applicable.

The focus of any assessment and support is to enable an adult with care needs to live as independently as possible. For this reason, adults with such needs should be involved in their care and support planning. A well written care plan can provide an adult with a long-term safeguard for their social care needs.

Coronavirus Act 2020

The Coronavirus Act 2020 sets out the temporary emergency measures that enable public bodies such as local authorities, to respond to the pandemic. Importantly, the Coronavirus Act changes the terms upon which local authorities must meet the care needs of adults.

The Coronavirus Act only requires that a local authority meet an adult’s care and support needs, where necessary to avoid a breach of the adult’s human rights. Human rights legislation and case law makes clear that Human Rights are a minimum standard which the state must safeguard. Domestic law can (and frequently does) offer protection well beyond what the European Convention on Human Rights demands.

These changes to social care have effect from 31 March 2020. Government guidance clarifies that the easements should only be exercised by local authorities where economic pressure is placed upon it by the pandemic. For example, social workers may have to self-isolate, depleting the workforce, or there may be an increase in demand for social care. The easements are only meant to be used where compliance with Care Act 2014 duties is impractical.

The duties within the Care Act 2014 give important rights to vulnerable and disabled people. Any attempt to deny adults their right to social care should be carefully scrutinised. As lawyers, we would expect a local authority, denying an eligible person care and support, to carefully justify why this is necessary.

The Coronavirus Act gives local authorities a wide discretion to suspend or cease the provision of adult social care packages. The powers within the act are arguably too broad. Sadly, it will likely be disabled and vulnerable people who suffer the most.

If you, a family member, or someone you care for are not receiving sufficient support from the local authority, then a solicitor specialising in Community Care will be able to advise on possible next steps.

Kesar & Co Solicitors 27 London Road, Bromley, BR1 1DG 020 8181 3100 contact@kesarco.co.uk www.kesarco.co.uk