THE Government’s furlough scheme, which is money that is covering salaries during Covid, is set to end in April. Some say it should continue, others think it is being abused by organisations, mega-rich stars and businessmen.

Rishi Sunak’s scheme was originally set up to protect jobs, not to be used as a rescue operation to fill the pockets of millionaires.

The scheme cannot go on forever, that’s a fact. Most of the jobs the Government is protecting will never return, that’s a grim fact of life.

What awaits the unemployed is even grimmer. Jobseekers must actively seek work even in a Covid-jobless Britain.

They must contact employers directly on a daily basis, plus spend at least 30 hours a week job searching.

If a jobseeker cannot prove this, their benefit is cut for four to 13 weeks, or suspended altogether.

Sanctions were cruel enough even before the Covid restrictions came in.

They should certainly be abolished during a nationwide lockdown.

Stephanie Finnegan, Normanby, Middlesbrough.