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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 and we continue to keep the
situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</del></p><p><ins
class="ministerial">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><br /></p><ul><li><ins class="ministerial">making it easier to access
benefits. 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;</ins></li><li><ins class="ministerial">temporarily
relaxing the application of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for all self-employed claimants
affected by the economic impact of COVID-19 to ensure that the self-employed can access
UC at a more generous rate; 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><p><ins
class="ministerial">The Chancellor has also confirmed that, depending on their status,
workers on zero hours contracts may be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention
Scheme and we would urge people to explore this avenue too.</ins></p>
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