Asked by: Viscount Trenchard (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to freelance workers, and in particular, to those who work in the music festivals sector.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced new support for the self-employed on 26 March 2020.
The new Self-Employed Income Support Scheme will help those with lost trading profits due to COVID-19. It will allow eligible individuals to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of their trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for the next 3 months. This may be extended if needed and is one of the most generous self-employed support schemes in the world.
To qualify, an individual’s self-employed trading profits must be less than £50,000 and more than half of their income comes from self-employment. 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment will be eligible for this scheme.
HM Revenue & Customs will contact individuals if they are eligible for and invite them to apply online using a simple form. HMRC are working on this urgently and expect people to be able to access the Scheme no later than the beginning of June.
More information about the Scheme, including the full eligibility criteria and how to claim, is available on GOV.UK.
The Scheme supplements the significant support already announced for UK businesses and employees, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and deferral of tax payments.
More information about the full range of business support measures is available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Viscount Trenchard (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is weighted for London; and what plans they have for those whose salaries exceed the threshold of the Scheme.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The grant provided in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is not weighted for London. Any UK organisation with employees can apply for cash grants of 80% of employees’ wages up to a cap of £2,500 per month.
This grant is not designed to subsidise those on very high wages. The cap of £2,500 per month is above the UK median earnings level.
Asked by: Viscount Trenchard (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all festival businesses whose financial viability have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic will be eligible to receive loans equal to the amount of financial damage they have suffered as a direct result of the pandemic; and whether any such loans will require owners or directors of these businesses to pledge their personal assets.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government has announced a significant package of financial support for all businesses and organisations, including through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. Details of this package are available at: www.businesssupport.gov.uk. The government has taken new legal powers in the COVID-19 Bill, enabling it to offer whatever further financial support it thinks necessary to support businesses.Asked by: Viscount Trenchard (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the decision of the European Council concerning a new settlement for the UK within the EU, which states that "not all member states have the euro as their currency", means that the Financial Services Compensation reduction of the deposit protection limit from £85,000 to £75,000 will be reversed, and whether in future such fixed sterling amounts will not be subject to amendment according to exchange rate movements.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The Government has made representations to the European Commission to suggest that the reviews of the Deposit Guarantee Scheme Directive coverage level in non-euro states should occur after the Commission completes its review of suitability of the coverage level as a whole and also that changes for non-euro states reflect genuine, very large and lasting changes in exchange rates.