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Every week, our Money blog team finds the answer to a reader’s financial problem or consumer dispute. Here’s our latest…

My husband is freelance and the breadwinner of the family. He is in hospital for an unknown length of time. Is there any support for us in the short term, so we can keep our home?
Anonymous

Our cost of living specialist Megan Harwood-Baynes tackles this one…

I am so sorry to hear this – I have recently been through something similar with my husband, and it can be really stressful when you add financial worries on top of medical issues.

To help you navigate the next steps, I’ve broken this up into what support you can get with your mortgage specifically, government help and some advice on the rest of your bills.

Help with housing

Your most immediate concern seemed to be housing (understandably). First, try not to panic – it is easy to skip to the thought of losing your home, but the last thing your mortgage lender is going to want to do is go through the hassle of repossession for what could just be a short-term issue.

Start by having a look through your insurance – certain types of insurance can help with mortgage repayments if your income falls due to sickness.

(If you don’t have this, make a note to consider taking it out for next time – you never know when something like this could happen again, and income protection insurance could make a huge difference in the future.)

Assuming you don’t have insurance coverage, the next step is to contact your lender. The sooner you do this, the better, as you’re more likely to have better options available to you before you miss a payment.

Things you can ask for include:

  • To lengthen the term of your mortgage;
  • To switch to interest-only repayments;
  • Ask about a temporary mortgage payment holiday.

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There are pros and cons to all of the above, which you should consider carefully.

For example, a mortgage holiday is only suitable as a temporary fix – remember, you are still racking up interest on your remaining mortgage. It will leave the balance and remaining payments higher than they were before.

If you have already missed a payment, you are now in mortgage arrears. This can damage your credit file, and yes, it could eventually lead to you losing your home. But there is still support to get you back on track. Again, contact your lender and ask them for support.

The UK’s biggest mortgage lenders and the Financial Conduct Authority agreed on a set of standards under Rishi Sunak’s government, known as the Mortgage Charter. Under this, lenders are obligated to offer tailored support to anyone struggling – whatever the right option is will depend on your circumstances – so go into discussions with the mindset that they are there to help you.

Government support

If your husband is freelance, you won’t be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), but he will be able to claim Employment Support Allowance. This is for people who are self-employed, unemployed, classed as a student or who are employed but not eligible for SSP.

To apply, you will need to demonstrate that he is unable to work because of his illness or injury. The doctors should be able to provide a sick note and medical evidence for this.

You will need to make sure he has paid enough national insurance contributions. He should be able to check his records for gaps and then voluntarily fill them if need be.

He may also be eligible for a personal independence payment or PIP, which is for people living with disabilities or long-term health conditions.

In some cases, he may also be able to claim universal credit – this would be based on his monthly income before he went off sick.

As well as benefits, you may be entitled to a working-from-home tax rebate, or you could reclaim bank charges if you’ve incurred fees for going beyond your limit.

This seems overwhelming, I realise, so the best bet is to start by looking at the government’s benefits calculator.

You should also reach out to Citizens Advice or a charity such as Turn2us for advice from someone who can look at your situation in more detail.

If you aren’t yet in a debt crisis, I would caution against visiting a debt-counselling agency. They may push you towards declaring bankruptcy or an individual voluntary arrangement, which you may not need at this point. They are serious measures designed for those with few options left.

Pic: iStock
Image:
Pic: iStock

Help with bills and all the rest

Before you start missing payments on your bills, try to contact your utility companies first. Explain the circumstances – they are also obligated to help you.

You can claim support with your energy bills and any other costs. There’s no “one-size-fits-all” approach, so the best thing is to contact each of them individually.

Good luck, and I hope your husband recovers soon.

This feature is not intended as financial advice – the aim is to give an overview of the things you should think about. Submit your dilemma or consumer dispute via:

  • WhatsApp here
  • Or email moneyblog@sky.uk with the subject line “Money Problem”

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Brexit impact on UK economy ‘negative for foreseeable future’, Bank of England chief says

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Brexit impact on UK economy 'negative for foreseeable future', Bank of England chief says

Brexit will have a negative impact on the UK’s economic growth “for the foreseeable future”, the UK’s most senior banker has warned.

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said a decline in the UK’s potential growth rate from 2.5% to 1.5% over the past 15 years was linked to lower productivity growth, an ageing population, trade restrictions – and post-Brexit economic policies.

But he did add that the economy is, however, likely to adjust and find balance again in the longer term.

“Over the longer term, there will be – because trade adjusts – some at least partial rebalancing,” he added.

Speaking at an international banking seminar on Saturday in Washington DC, Mr Bailey said: “For nearly a decade, I have been very careful to say that I take no position per se on Brexit, which was a decision by the people of the UK, and it is our job as public officials to implement it.

“But, I quite often get asked a second question: what’s the impact on economic growth?

“And as a public official, I have to answer that question.

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“And the answer is that for the foreseeable future it is negative.”

Former prime minister Boris Johnson was a champion of Brexit. Pic: Reuters
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Former prime minister Boris Johnson was a champion of Brexit. Pic: Reuters

However, Mr Bailey did say investment in innovation and new technologies, including AI, may help address the decline in productivity growth in the long run.

“If we take account of the impact of ageing and trade restrictions, we’re really putting our chips on investment,” he added.

“We’re putting our chips on general-purpose technology, and AI looks like the next general-purpose technology, so we need to work with it.

“We need to ensure that it develops appropriately and well.”

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Mr Bailey warned that, although AI is likely to usher in a breakthrough in productivity long-term, it may “in the current circumstances, be a risk to financial stability through stretched valuations in the markets”.

“It doesn’t undermine the fact that AI, in my view, is likely, in addressing this slower growth issue, that we have and the consequences of it – that it is actually the best hope we have, and we really do need to do all we can to foster it,” he said.

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Has Rachel Reeves changed her tone on budget?

The Bank of England governor’s prediction comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves is under pressure ahead of next month’s budget, with official figures showing muted growth in August following a surprise contraction in July.

Inflation surge

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.1% month-on-month in August and fell by 0.1% in July, in a revision to the previous estimate for no growth.

In the three months to August, GDP grew by 0.3% compared with 0.2% growth in the three months to July, the ONS said.

The latest figures come after the International Monetary Fund earlier this week forecast UK inflation was set to surge to the highest in the G7 in 2025 and 2026.

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Business

Oil and gas workers offered cash to retrain, in major plan for future clean energy workforce

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Oil and gas workers offered cash to retrain, in major plan for future clean energy workforce

Ministers have unveiled their flagship plan to train and recruit workers for the booming clean energy sector, which it is hoping to supercharge in the next five years.

Up to £18m of new money has been pledged by the UK and Scottish governments specifically to move those working in the oil and gas sector into new roles.

Their jobs are about to fall off a cliff as the industry declines, with at least 40,000 of the current 115,000 jobs forecast to disappear by the early 2030s.

Almost all of those roles are thought to be fairly easily transferable into green industries – requiring little more than a few months of extra training.

But in the absence of government help, workers have been moving abroad, industry says, taking with them the expertise Britain badly needs to for its new greener energy system.

And it has left them feeling forgotten about after years of working to keep the lights on, and increasingly swayed by Reform UK, both GMB and Unite unions have warned Labour.

Pledge to double green jobs by 2030

More on Renewable Energy

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told Sky News that creating jobs in sectors like carbon capture and storage and hydrogen would help “create a future for those in the North Sea communities”.

The new £18m will pay for careers advice, training, and “skills passports” to enable oil and gas workers to make the switch without having to repeat qualifications.

The cash was announced on Sunday in the new Clean Energy Jobs Plan, which details how the government hopes to make good on its promise to double green jobs by 2030.

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Renewables overtake coal for first time

Mr Miliband said in an interview: “This plan shows 400,000 extra jobs in the clean energy economy by 2030.

“This isn’t a target. This is actually what we believe is necessary to meet all the plans we have across the economy.”

The first strategy of its kind hopes to plug the UK’s massive skills gap that threatens to derail the government’s target to green the electricity system by 2030.

It identifies 31 priority occupations that are particularly in demand, such as plumbers, electricians and welders, and lists a target to convert five colleges into new “Technical Excellence Colleges” to train workers.

‘You can’t train people for jobs that aren’t there’

Unions welcomed the plan, but pointed out that skills and training do not equate to new jobs.

They say it will mean nothing without extra money and a revitalised domestic supply chain to build all the green technology needed, from fibreglass wind turbines to aluminium sub-sea cables.

Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary who has threatened to cut ties with Labour over its policy to end North Sea oil and gas drilling and watering down of a ban on zero-hours contracts, welcomed the “initial steps” but called for “an equally ambitious programme of public investment”.

Professor Paul de Leeuw from the Energy Transition Institute in Aberdeen said the plan was “genuinely new and different”, and had for the first time joined up relevant information and strategies in one place.

But “you can’t train people for jobs that aren’t there”, he added, also calling for an investment plan.f

Reform heartlands could benefit from Labour’s jobs plan

The boom in clean energy jobs stands to benefit Reform heartlands along the east coast of Britain.

That fact is more by luck than design, given the east coast’s proximity to offshore wind farms and carbon capture and storage fields in the North Sea.

Reform promises a radically different vision for the country’s future, based on reopening coal mines and maxing out nuclear power and what’s left of North Sea oil and gas to boost jobs and the economy.

Its deputy leader, Richard Tice, objects to land being used for solar panels and pylons.

Government modelling forecasts an additional 35,000 direct jobs in Scotland, 55,000 in the East of England and 50,000 in the North West.

To keep the unions sweet, the government will also have to follow through on its pledge to boost the rights of those working offshore in green energy.

A current loophole gives protections like the minimum wage to oil and gas workers in UK territorial seas, but not to workers in the clean energy sector.

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Heathrow puts Jansen on runway as next chairman

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Heathrow puts Jansen on runway as next chairman

The former BT Group chief Philip Jansen is being lined up as the next chairman of Heathrow Airport as Britain’s biggest aviation hub prepares to deliver an expansion costing close to £50bn.

Sky News has learnt that Mr Jansen, who chairs the FTSE-100 marketing services group WPP, is in advanced talks with Heathrow’s board and shareholders about taking on the role.

If the discussions reach a successful conclusion, sources said an announcement could come within weeks.

Mr Jansen is said to have emerged as the frontrunner from a shortlist of candidates compiled by headhunters at Russell Reynolds Associates.

His experience as the boss of BT, a regulated utility, is said to have been key to his selection as the preferred candidate.

Mr Jansen has also run companies including MyTravel and Worldpay.

The appointment of a successor to Lord Deighton, who has held the post for nine years, comes at a critical time for Heathrow.

In August, the airport submitted a revised expansion plan consisting of a third runway costing £21bn, £12bn for a new terminal and stand capacity, and £15bn to modernise the current airport through the expansion of Terminal 2.

The existing Terminal 3 would ultimately be closed.

Read more: Full details of Heathrow’s plans for a third runway revealed

Heathrow handled a record 83.9 million passengers in 2024 and is adamant that a third runway is essential to the growth of Britain’s economy, given the volume of exports which pass through the site.

“It has never been more important or urgent to expand Heathrow,” the airport’s chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, said in August.

“We are effectively operating at capacity to the detriment of trade and connectivity.

“With a green light from government and the correct policy support underpinned by a fit for purpose regulatory model, we are ready to mobilise and start investing this year in our supply chain across the country.

“We are uniquely placed to do this for the country; it is time to clear the way for take-off.”

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The expansion remains opposed by many airlines alarmed by the prospective increase in charges to use the airport, as well

It has, however, been backed by the government, with Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, saying that a third runway “would unlock further growth, boost investment, increase exports, and make the UK more open and more connected as part of our Plan for Change”.

Heathrow’s next chairman will lead a board dominated by representatives of the airport’s principal shareholders.

Mr Woldbye apologised in May for being asleep during the power outage in March which forced Heathrow’s temporary closure.

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‘Serious questions’ after Heathrow fire

The airport said it would implement the recommendations of a review conducted by former transport secretary Ruth Kelly.

Heathrow’s search for a new chairman comes months after the most significant changes to its ownership structure in years.

Ardian, a French investment group, now owns 32.6% of the company following a series of transactions over the last 12 months.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has also become an investor.

Heathrow has never formally announced Lord Deighton’s intention to step down, other than a disclosure in its annual report in which he wrote:

“In light of the recent changes to the HAHL [Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited] board…the nominations committee…has asked me to extend my appointment for a limited period to help ensure a smooth transition whilst new non-executive shareholder directors become familiar with the business and a new chair is appointed.

“I have therefore agreed to extend my role as chair for a limited period to ensure continuity and stability on the HAHL Board during this period of transition.”

A Heathrow spokesperson declined to comment, while Mr Jansen could not be reached for comment.

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