THE government’s former homelessness adviser warned today that Britain faces a “period of destitution,” with families struggling to afford food and buy shoes for their children.

Dame Louise Casey said Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s new coronavirus Job Support Scheme (JSS) would not “cut it.”

The scheme, to replace the more generous furlough scheme from November 1, will see those in “viable jobs” able to work at least one-third of their hours get 77 per cent of their pay, while the government’s contribution is capped at £697.92 per month.