Support for Self-employed and Freelance Workers

Claire Hanna Excerpts

Thursday 17th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Claire Hanna (Belfast South) (SDLP)]

I thank those Members who have been championing the self-employed for the past six months. In Northern Ireland, about 15% of people are self-employed, which is higher than average, and of course the scheme has been welcome, vital and suitable for many people, including those back already to something approaching a normal working life. For me, however, as for other Members, the hole in the scheme became very clear from my inbox—from the newly self-employed without last year’s tax return, to the limited director who pays herself with dividends as and when she can; from the PAYE freelancer, the part-time freelance, to those just over the threshold or who took time off for sickness or maternity, having tried to build a career that could balance their home and work life, and now feel abandoned.

In short, the scheme did not reflect the modern economy and modern work practices, nor the ways in which so many had been living. These are individuals who had taken a leap of faith with their skills or had been manoeuvred into their working arrangements by the casualisation of the economy in their sector. We are talking about the tradesman, the contractor, the small and growing business—the red blood cell members of our economy, driven, willing and creative: attributes we will need so much as we rebuild after the pandemic. Some have already gone under because they could not wait for business as normal to return, and very many more are edging closer to a similar fate. In my constituency, since the start of the pandemic, 2,300 more people are claiming universal credit. It would take every minute of the time we have today to talk about how unfit for purpose and unfair is that system that so many more people will be thrown into in coming months.

I want to use my limited time to focus on the creative sector in Northern Ireland, which is 5% of our economy and growing fast. It is not only fundamental to our tourism product but fundamental, of course, to who we are. At home, now and in darker times, the arts was the shared space—the organic place—where people of all backgrounds and different views worked and enjoyed themselves together in a way that a Government in Northern Ireland could not create in their wildest dreams. It was, as Liam Neeson said, our north star and our compass. He said that at the Lyric theatre, which is the heart of my constituency and the heart of the arts and culture.

[Jim Shannon]

The hon. Lady is very passionate in what she is saying, and I totally agree with her. One of the drama clubs and theatres that has done exceptionally well is Bangor drama club, which has closed after 90 years. Many of my constituents participated in that for the camaraderie, the coming together, the friendships and the wonderful productions. Does she agree that the Minister here and the Minister in Northern Ireland must ensure that historic venues such as this can be opened once more as the community hubs that they are and can be again?

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[Claire Hanna]

Of course. The hon. Member will know that community arts also feed into our professional workforce, attracting and creating so many jobs. The economic value is clear: the arts give us £7 for every £1 spent. We have world-leading expertise—genuinely world-leading expertise—in all areas of the arts in Northern Ireland. But because it is a sector that requires collaboration, it is almost necessarily casualised, and very few people are working in static economies.

I think we are all dying to get back to the theatre, back to a book launch, back to a gallery or back to a gig, but if we do not take action, the sector will not be there. In fact, if we do not take action the things that, in many cases, got us through the past six months—the books we read and the TV we enjoyed—will not be produced in the same volume again. That requires taking action: the type of action that the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) outlined so comprehensively, and indeed, as the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) said, action within Northern Ireland. I am calling on the Executive to release and to thoroughly target the £33 million that was our proportion of the arts intervention in July within Northern Ireland. If we are not spending as much as the Conservatives on the arts, we have a bit of a problem. Indeed, we need a wider economic strategy that addresses all those who have been excluded and left out within the economy.

The whole economy is struggling, of course, but the arts, in particular, has so little chance of recovery. It simply cannot open in the same way again. If universal credit is all that people are going to be able to access—if they are lucky, after a fight—how are they going to stay afloat? How are they even going to get back on their feet, let alone manage to retrain or retool for a future economy? This is going to have a long-term impact that is not just economic and not just about our cultural value, but will affect equality in the workplace, skills, growth and innovation. It is not too late to act. The scheme can be extended in scope and duration. It can be applied retrospectively. The support that other advanced economies have provided can be given. No one is saying that this can or should last forever, but nor does anyone believe that this crisis is over. Leaving people with nothing and at the financial cliff edge turns off the light at the end of the tunnel.