“ABSENT” Chancellor Rishi Sunak is being urged to announce financial support for low-income households affected by the new lockdown, after not making a substantial speech for over a month.

Mr Sunak must boost financial support for workers who have to self-isolate if Britain is to suppress the virus, the TUC warned today, as a record number of new Covid-19 cases was announced.

The daily number of new coronavirus cases surpassed 60,000 for the first time, with a total of 60,916 cases recorded. 

A further 830 people have died within 28 days of a positive test, up from 407 on Monday.

It came after England and Scotland both went into full lockdowns.

But the TUC warned that a fifth of workers self-isolating at home in England will receive no sick pay or wages.

Lack of decent sick pay is pushing people into debt and undermining the coronavirus test and trace system, TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady warned.

In a new TUC poll, two-fifths of workers said that they would have to go into debt, or go into arrears on their bills, if their income dropped to £96 a week — around the current level of statutory sick pay (SSP). 

This number rises to nearly half (48 per cent) for disabled workers.

Britain has one of the lowest rates of sick pay in Europe and nearly two million workers do not earn enough to qualify for it, most of them women.

Workers receiving statutory maternity, paternity, adoption or additional paternity pay are currently not eligible to receive SSP. The self-employed are also excluded.

The TUC is calling on government to increase the rate of SSP from £95.85 to a real living wage of £320 a week, extend SSP to all workers, and introduce an extensive support package for household finances, including an increase in the local authority hardship fund and support for paying council tax and rent.

Labour demanded that “absent” Mr Sunak make a full statement in Parliament on economic support for the new England-wide lockdown.

Mr Sunak posted a 90-second video statement on business support measures for the new lockdown today, but is not scheduled to give a statement when Parliament is recalled tomorrow for MPs to vote on the new measures.

His last appearance in Parliament was on December 1.

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds accused him of going “missing in action” and slammed his “cameo” video appearance after PM Boris Johnson failed to mention economic measures when announcing the new lockdown.

Labour also criticised the PM for making “no mention” of the millions of employees, self-employed people, parents and others who will be affected by the new restrictions or forced to self-isolate.

Ms Dodds called on Mr Sunak to appear in Parliament as soon as possible to set out in full what support will be offered to employees, self-employed workers and benefit claimants who will be affected.

She also demanded that he extend the bans on evictions and repossessions, and extend mortgage holidays.

Mr Sunak is meanwhile reported to be pressing ahead with plans to raise council tax by 5 per cent, cut pay for key workers on the front line, and slash universal credit in the middle of the pandemic. 

Ms Dodds said: “People have had enough of the last-minute scramble from this absent Chancellor.

“Rishi Sunak must come to Parliament and finally set out a long-term plan to protect jobs and livelihoods and put Britain on the path to a better, more secure recovery.”