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1312029

registered interest
date	26/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Self-employed: Government Assistance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to support an increase in freelance working.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	187153
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2021 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of supporting the self-employed, including freelancers, during the COVID-19 outbreak and has taken steps to deliver a very substantial economic support package, designed to provide individuals and businesses with the assistance and certainty they need over the course of the pandemic. This includes over £33bn of support provided to eligible self-employed individuals through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), as well as increased levels of Universal Credit, Extended Loss Carry Back rules, the Recovery Loan scheme, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.</p><p> </p><p>As restrictions are eased, economic activity and demand will gradually pick up as a result, and the Government will continue to consider how it can support all parts of the labour market, recognising that businesses will need some time to recover and adapt.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 29/04/2021 08:26:41 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1310260

registered interest
date	19/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Employment: Government Assistance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support will be available to employees when the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is scaled back.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	183074
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>The changes to the level of employer contributions under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme align with the Government’s plan for lifting restrictions over the coming months. As the economy reopens, it is right that the Government asks employers to contribute more in order to strike the right balance between supporting the economic recovery past the end of the roadmap, to allow businesses time to plan and adjust, and ensuring incentives are in place to get people back to work as demand returns.</p><p> </p><p>The Government remains committed to ensuring it takes the right action at the right time to support individuals and businesses in every region and nation of the UK. The Plan for Jobs, reinforced by the 2020 Spending Review, launched immediate action to support individuals to get into work, including through the £2 billion Kickstart and £2.9 billion Restart schemes, and by doubling the number of DWP work coaches to 27,000. At Budget 2021, in order to provide further support to employment, the Government announced an additional £126 million for traineeships in England and set up a new £7 million fund to enable apprentices to work across different employers.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 183075 question first answered 27/04/2021 07:34:48 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1310261

registered interest
date	19/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Employment: Government Assistance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of potential effect on the level of employment of the scaling back of the Government's covid-19 job support schemes following the end of the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	183075
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>The changes to the level of employer contributions under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme align with the Government’s plan for lifting restrictions over the coming months. As the economy reopens, it is right that the Government asks employers to contribute more in order to strike the right balance between supporting the economic recovery past the end of the roadmap, to allow businesses time to plan and adjust, and ensuring incentives are in place to get people back to work as demand returns.</p><p> </p><p>The Government remains committed to ensuring it takes the right action at the right time to support individuals and businesses in every region and nation of the UK. The Plan for Jobs, reinforced by the 2020 Spending Review, launched immediate action to support individuals to get into work, including through the £2 billion Kickstart and £2.9 billion Restart schemes, and by doubling the number of DWP work coaches to 27,000. At Budget 2021, in order to provide further support to employment, the Government announced an additional £126 million for traineeships in England and set up a new £7 million fund to enable apprentices to work across different employers.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 183074 question first answered 27/04/2021 07:34:51 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1310262

registered interest
date	19/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Employment: Government Assistance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to provide support to employers for retraining their workers following the end of the Government's covid-19 job support schemes.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	183076
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>The changes to the level of employer contributions under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme align with the Government’s plan for lifting restrictions over the coming months. As the economy reopens, it is right that the Government asks employers to contribute more in order to strike the right balance between supporting the economic recovery past the end of the roadmap, to allow businesses time to plan and adjust, and ensuring incentives are in place to get people back to work as demand returns.</p><p> </p><p>The Government remains committed to ensuring it takes the right action at the right time to support individuals and businesses in every region and nation of the UK. The Plan for Jobs, reinforced by the 2020 Spending Review, launched immediate action to support individuals to get into work, including through the £2 billion Kickstart and £2.9 billion Restart schemes, and by doubling the number of DWP work coaches to 27,000. At Budget 2021, in order to provide further support to employment, the Government announced an additional £126 million for traineeships in England and set up a new £7 million fund to enable apprentices to work across different employers.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 27/04/2021 07:37:57 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1280101

registered interest
date	27/01/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Parental Leave: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of taking steps to encourage companies to place parents on furlough while schools are closed as a result of the covid-19 national lockdown that has been in place since January 2021.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	142794
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2021 answer text <p>The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is available to the employers of anyone who is unable to work, including from home, due to caring responsibilities arising from COVID-19, such as caring for children who are at home as a result of school and childcare facilities closing. However, the furloughing of staff through the CJRS is a voluntary arrangement, entered at the employers’ discretion and agreed by employees. It is not for the Government to decide whether an individual firm should put its staff on furlough.</p><p> </p><p>In the most recent national lockdown, the Government has chosen to keep early years settings open for all children. Vulnerable children and children of key workers can also continue to attend out-of-school settings, for example breakfast clubs and after-school clubs. Households with anyone aged under 14 can form a ‘childcare bubble’. This allows friends or family from one other household to provide informal childcare.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 29/01/2021 14:12:23 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1280629

registered interest
date	26/01/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Automation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme on the rate of jobs being replaced by automation.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	143696
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2021 answer text <p>The objective of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is to enable employers to keep people in employment. So far, the CJRS has helped 1.2 million employers to pay the wages of 9.9 million jobs across all sectors of the economy.</p><p> </p><p>Analysis published by HMRC shows that 90 per cent of employees that left the CJRS between April and July were still on their original payroll in August, suggesting they remained working for their original employer. The OBR have also estimated that unemployment would have been higher in the second quarter of 2021 in the absence of the CJRS and other measures.</p><p> </p><p>The Government continues to monitor CJRS take-up, with HMRC's latest official statistics producing analysis of claims split by characteristics including employer size, sector of the economy, geography, age and gender.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 02/02/2021 15:29:47 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1280635

registered interest
date	26/01/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that businesses are (a) lawfully claiming and (b) distributing funds received under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	143700
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2021 answer text <p>The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme forms part of a wider national effort to protect people’s jobs. Fraudulent claims put at risk the provision of public services and the protection of livelihoods. This could include employers claiming on an employee’s behalf and not then paying them what they are entitled to, asking employees to do work while on furlough, or making a backdated claim that includes times when workers were working.</p><p> </p><p>As part of HMRC’s commitment to transparency and to deter fraudulent claims, they will publish information about employers who claim for periods starting on or after 1 December 2020. This information can be found at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-who-have-claimed-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-who-have-claimed-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Employees can play a vital role by reporting fraudulent claims to HMRC, via their online fraud reporting tool: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/customs-excise-and-vat-fraud-reporting" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/customs-excise-and-vat-fraud-reporting</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Compliance investigations are now under way, and HMRC are checking claims made through this scheme. Payments may be withheld or need to be repaid in full to HMRC if the claim is based on dishonest or inaccurate information or found to be fraudulent.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC have made clear that they will not hesitate to act on reports of abuse, and the first arrest made in relation to CJRS fraud was on 8 July 2020.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 02/02/2021 15:27:21 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1280636

registered interest
date	26/01/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Minimum Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that employees supported through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme are paid the national minimum wage.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	143701
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2021 answer text <p>Individuals are only entitled to the National Living Wage (NLW)/National Minimum Wage (NMW) for the hours they are working or treated as working under the NLW/NMW rules.</p><p> </p><p>Therefore, under flexible furloughing, furloughed workers will be paid NMW for any hours the individual spends working. For hours not worked, i.e. time furloughed, workers will be paid the lower of 80 per cent of their salary, or £2,500. This amount – for hours not worked – is the amount the employer can claim for through the CJRS.</p><p> </p><p>If they wish, employers can top up these payments voluntarily.</p><p> </p><p>If workers are required to complete training courses during the hours they are furloughed, then they must be paid at least the appropriate 2020/21 NLW/NMW for the time spent training, even if this is more than the 80 per cent of their monthly earnings that will be subsidised. Any training should be carried out in line with the latest public health guidance.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 02/02/2021 15:29:34 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1259818

registered interest
date	09/12/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Self-employment Income Support Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that employees on the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme are paid the national minimum wage.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	127481
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2020 answer text <p>The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is available to self-employed individuals who have been affected by reduced demand or have been unable to trade due to COVID-19, which they believe will lead to a significant reduction in their trading profits. Those receiving the SEISS cannot receive the national minimum wage as minimum wages do not apply to the self-employed.</p><p> </p><p>The SEISS has provided and will continue to provide substantial support to those self-employed people who meet the eligibility criteria. The first SEISS grant supported 2.7 million individuals with claims totalling £7.8 billion. A further £5.9 billion has been claimed through the second SEISS grant.</p><p> </p><p>The third SEISS grant will cover the three-month period from November 2020 until January 2021. This will be a taxable grant calculated at 80 per cent of three months’ average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment and capped at £7,500 in total. Combined with up to £14,070 worth of support for each individual from the first and second grants, it makes the SEISS one of the most generous schemes for the self-employed in the world.</p><p> </p><p>Moreover, the SEISS continues to be just one element of a substantial package of support for the self-employed. The Universal Credit standard allowance has been temporarily increased for 2020-21 and the Minimum Income Floor relaxed for the duration of the crisis, so that where self-employed claimants' earnings have fallen significantly, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. In addition to this, the self-employed may also have access to other elements of the package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 18/12/2020 12:42:41 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1259819

registered interest
date	09/12/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Self-employed: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing support to newly self-employed individuals who have been ineligible for covid-19 support to date.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	127482
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2020 answer text <p>The Government has looked carefully at ways to support groups such as the newly self-employed, and acknowledges that it has not been possible to support everyone as they might want. The practical issues that prevented the Government from being able to include the newly self-employed in 2019-20 in the original Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), namely that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will not have access to their self-assessment returns in order to verify their eligibility, still remain.</p><p> </p><p>The Government continues to work closely with stakeholders to explore how it can support different groups. The Government has engaged with various proposals but has not yet found a way to overcome the fundamental issue of safeguarding against fraud and abuse.</p><p> </p><p>However, newly self-employed individuals who are ineligible for SEISS may still be eligible for other elements of the support available. The Universal Credit standard allowance has been temporarily increased for 2020/21 and the Minimum Income Floor relaxed for the duration of the crisis, so that where self-employed claimants' earnings have fallen significantly, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. In addition to this, they may also have access to other elements of the support package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 18/12/2020 12:36:11 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick