Not only are we soon going to be faced with even more SMEs facing insolvency or bankruptcy, due to them not being able to pay back their Bounce Back Loans or at the very least going out of their minds with worry about possibility defaulting on those loans, the mental health problems many of them are experiencing due to the added burden of repaying those loans will increase moving forward too.
I am already seeing evidence of that being the case. Yesterday Julie Marson MP asked Sir Tom Scholar, Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury several questions about huge pay-offs for HMT staff, the massive turnover of staff in that department and the increased mental health issues staff working for HMT are experiencing.
You can see that discussion below. It does however beg the question that if HM Treasury staff are getting extra support, why has no one thought of offering the same to those who are needing it right now that have a Bounce Back Loan.
The Government tell those who are experiencing problems repaying those loans to contact their lender, that in itself is a nightmare for most SMEs who can spend hours if not days on hold never getting through to the right department.
No real help is being offered by those lenders anyway, over and above the PAYG options, which lands SMEs with more interest debt no matter which options they take and/or in which order.
The BBL scheme is a ticking bomb that will explode sooner rather than later, but as it stands Rishi and his team seem not too bothered. That is why more and more people with a BBL are taking it into their own hands and challenging their BBLs with the aim of getting them written off or reduced in value. Who can blame them for doing so.