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<p><del class="ministerial">As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear,
the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and
we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the
right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation
under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The
current Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) rate is the legal minimum rate that an employer must
pay to an employee; many employers have their own occupational health schemes. The
SSP system is designed to balance support for the individual with the costs to the
employer and, as such, there are no plans to make this change. The Government has
been clear in its commitment to support those affected in these difficult times and
we have made a number of changes to the welfare system in the past fortnight to ensure
people are supported in doing this. These changes include:</ins></p><ul><li><ins class="ministerial">making
it easier to access benefits. SSP is now payable from day 1 – as opposed to day 4
– and those applying for Contributory ESA will be able to claim from day 1 – as opposed
to day 8 - and we have removed the need for face-to-face assessment. Both Universal
Credit and Contributory ESA can now be claimed by phone or online;</ins></li><li><ins
class="ministerial">increasing the standard allowance of Universal Credit and working
tax credit for this year by around £1000 per year; and</ins></li><li><ins class="ministerial">increasing
in the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants
so that it covers the cheapest third of local rents – which is on average £600 in
people’s pockets.</ins></li></ul><p><ins class="ministerial">Together, these measures
represent an injection of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system.</ins></p>
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