Oral Answers to Questions

Neil Gray Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

It grieves me to see football clubs—Mansfield, Norwich City and others—not able to go back in the way that they want to right now. I totally sympathise with my hon. Friend and with the fans, and I really wish we did not have to do this now. The best way obviously to get through it, as I say, is to follow the advice and suppress the virus; but in the meantime, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is looking actively at solutions to help Norwich City and other clubs.

[Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP) [V]]

  Sometimes doing the right thing is not easy, but in this case, it is essential. It is clear that doing the right thing to stop the spread of covid-19 is going to have a social, business and economic impact, but as yet the UK Government have not moved to ensure in this new phase that there is full security for those doing the right thing. So will the Prime Minister do the right thing and look now, as a minimum, at the support available to businesses—in particular, the self-employed, who may need to self-isolate repeatedly or be back in the realm of zero income—extend the furlough scheme and ensure the limited universal credit uplift is expanded to legacy benefits and made permanent?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman is right in the sense that of course the Government are going to come forward with further measures. I do not think that it would be sensible simply to extend the current existing furlough scheme in its present form beyond the end of October, but we will do everything we can to support businesses and to support those in jobs and, indeed, the self-employed, as the hon. Gentleman rightly says.