Star date: 24th February 2021

OLD PINT POT MANAGER AND BBC FREELANCER AMONGST SALFORD EXCLUDED

Tonight, between 6:30pm and 8pm, there is a Zoom online pre-budget event with GM Mayor Andy Burnham and Gina Miller highlighting, yet again, the plight of the three million people excluded from financial support during the pandemic.

To bring the injustice even further to our doorsteps, here we recount the stories of Old Pint Pot Manager, Dean Smith, who only took over the pub in September, and BBC freelancer, Carol, who has had to go to a film and tv charity for handouts.

Full details here...

It's fair to say that Salford hasn't been very good so far for Dean Smith, firstly losing deals for three apartments he and his partner Charlotte Havercroft wanted to buy, through doubling ground rent and dodgy cladding... "If this wasn't a sign, I don't know what was" he says.

"It's always been our dream to have our own pub, and I was working as a general manager in a bar in York and we had been keeping an eye out for a place for a couple of years" he explains.

"Just as we received the phone call to say that the apartment we were about to exchange on could no longer be sold due to bad cladding, we came across an advert for The Old Pint Pot" he adds "This venue was the perfect fit for us. It was everything we were looking for in our own place. We went for it in August, and we became business owners in the September."

Dean is a sole trader employing 17 staff under a retail agreement with Marstons Brewery. This means that he is solely responsible for paying staff wages and things such as insurances and Council Tax in exchange for a percentage cut of the profits. The brewery then keeps the remaining profits and pays the business rates, property upkeep and stock amongst other things.

"Because I am both newly self-employed and not the named ratepayer, we have been excluded from any form of financial help" he says "We have tried every avenue of help – and met some great people along the way. However, this all leads to a dead end with Salford Council rejecting all applications made.

Despite help from the Business Growth Hub and ExcludedUK, the situation is precarious to say the least... "We knew by taking on a pub in a pandemic that we would not be out to make a huge profit - if any - this year" says Dean "We aimed to survive and that is it. Fast forward and we are now stuck with a large HMRC bill - one that would have been helped with the Job Retention Scheme bonus promised to us before it was taken away - a VAT bill and an empty pub.

"We're lucky that Charlotte is still in a full time job and able to support us both" he says "Without this, we would have folded a long time ago. We set out to own our own place – to try and make something for ourselves. We have 17 great employees who we're trying our best to keep on. But, savings will only last so far and, therefore, redundancies are looking likely. We don't sit in the pub anymore – it's just a reminder of what we don't have and potentially could lose. Without any help, I worry that we won't survive. We'll lose the pub, our dream and all of our savings – and that is truly heart breaking."

Meanwhile, Carol (not her real name) works freelance in the creative industries and has had to go to a charity for help...

"I'm what's called a PAYE freelancer in the creative industries working in tv and theatre, meaning I work for different companies throughout the year and I'm on the payroll which means I get taxed at source and my National Insurance and holidays are paid" she explains "After the change for the Real Time Information furlough dates I was still unable to be furloughed as BBC HR didn't let HMRC know in time about me working for them."

Carol had to go to a film and tv charity and got six months of support, plus a one off payment from the Greater Manchester artist hub...

"I've also had some Zoom meetings giving me extra help like career advice" she adds "and I've set up and Etsy shop so I can sell my handmade makes just to make some cash and it gives me something to do between jobs...when they come up."

Throughout the pandemic, ExcludedUK has highlighted the plight of the three million people who have received little or no financial help from the Government, and, with the budget in sight, is holding an online rally this evening to try to ram home again one of the worst injustices of the coronavirus crisis.

Hosted by Sonali Joshi, co-founder of ExcludedUK, and Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, there will also be contributions from two more mayors, Steve Rotheram and Dan Jarvis, plus Martin Lewis, Gina Miller and John Cauldwell, as well as case studies from four of those affected.

The Zoom rally runs between 6:30pm and 8pm tonight, Wednesday 24th February, and to register for the event submit your name, organisation and email address to kevin_lee@labour.org.uk by 3pm if possible.