Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what level of financial support he has allocated to Bolton in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
Throughout this crisis, the government has sought to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods while also supporting businesses and public services across the UK, including in Bolton. To do this, the government has put in place an economic package of support which will provide businesses and individuals with certainty over the coming months, even as measures to prevent further spread of the virus change. The government has spent over £280 billion this year to provide this support.
Businesses in Bolton which are forced to close can claim grants of up to £3,000 per month, based on their rateable value, through the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed). They can also claim a one-off grant of up to £9,000, in addition to the monthly grant. Businesses in Bolton which are not able to receive these grants for closed businesses may be able to benefit from the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG). We recently increased the funding available under this scheme to £1.6 billion across England. It is up to each local authority to determine eligibility for this scheme based on their assessment of local economic need; however, we encourage local authorities to support businesses which have been impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, but which are ineligible for the other grant schemes.
In addition to funding for these grant schemes, local authorities in Bolton which were subject to enhanced restrictions on socialising (such as a ban on indoor household mixing) between 1 August and 5 November, and between 2 December and 5 January, will have received funding from the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) scheme to enable them to make backdated grants to hospitality, leisure, and accommodation businesses worth 70% of the monthly grants for closed businesses.
Businesses are also able to access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which was introduced to help employers whose operations have been affected by COVID-19 retain their employees and protect the UK economy. All businesses across the UK can access the scheme, which will run until the end of April 2021, with employees receiving 80% of their usual salary for hours not worked, up to £2,500 per month. As at 31 December, provisional statistics show that there were about 15,300 employments furloughed in Bolton North East, Bolton South East, and Bolton West, representing a roughly 12% takeup rate among eligible employments.
Businesses across the UK have also received billions in loans, tax deferrals, Business Rates relief, and general and sector-specific grants. Individuals and families have benefited from increased welfare payments, enhanced Statutory Sick Pay, a stay on repossession proceedings and mortgage holidays.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help protect homeowners who have exhausted the six-month mortgage payment holiday from having their homes repossessed.
Answered by John Glen
For borrowers that have already taken a full six months payment holiday and who continue to face ongoing financial difficulties, the FCA’s guidance sets out that firms should continue to provide support through tailored forbearance options. This could include granting new mortgage payment holidays. As part of this guidance any forbearance granted beyond six months of payment holidays will be reflected on the consumer’s credit file in the usual manner. As borrowers still requiring assistance after that point could be in serious financial distress the FCA believe it is right that lenders are able to understand their financial position in order to lend responsibly.
We understand this remains an uncertain time, and to reassure homeowners the period that lenders cannot repossess homes for has been extended. The FCA’s guidance released on 17 November sets out that lenders cannot issue a warrant for repossession until after 31 January 2021.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 September 2020 to Question 91828, whether he has made an estimate of the number and proportion of PAYE freelancers who are currently contracted by public service broadcasters who have not been granted furlough by their employer; and whether he is providing financial assistance to those PAYE freelancers.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Government’s covid-19 (a) health restrictions and (b) economic measures on people over the age of 75 years.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
We are undertaking a wide range of analysis to support decision making across government. We are keeping Parliament and the wider public updated on the analysis of covid including through several survey publications on business and social impacts available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-statistics-and-analysis#social-impacts.
More broadly, equality impacts have been identified as part of an ongoing process to support policy development and have been a key part of the decision-making process. The responsibility for equalities impact assessments lies with departments, who take this responsibility very seriously. Impact assessments are kept under review.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to support self-employed people not eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is helping those that have been adversely affected by COVID-19, and has already provided over £13 billion of support. Those not eligible for the SEISS may still be eligible for other elements of the unprecedented package of financial support available. This package includes Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, and other business support grants. All 11 million UK self-assessment taxpayers will also be able to benefit from the recently enhanced Time to Pay ‘self-service’ facility to form a 12-month, interest-free payment arrangement for up to £30,000 of self-assessment debt.
Furthermore, the Chancellor has announced additional funding to support cash grants of up to £2,100 per month primarily for businesses in the hospitality, accommodation and leisure sector who may be adversely affected by the restrictions in high-alert level areas. These grants will be available retrospectively for areas which have already been subject to restrictions, and come on top of higher levels of additional business support for Local Authorities moving into Tier 3 which, if scaled up across the country, would be worth more than £1 billion. These grants could benefit about 150,000 businesses in England, including hotels, restaurants, B&Bs and many more which are not legally required to close but have been adversely affected nonetheless by local restrictions.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the potential merits of reopening business support grant funding schemes for allocation by local authorities.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Chancellor recently announced that we will be providing additional funding to Local Authorities in Tier 2 areas to allow them to make grants of up to £2,100 per month to hospitality, leisure, and hotel/B&B businesses affected by the restrictions on socialising in those areas.
In addition, any business across England which is legally closed will receive grants worth up to £3,000 per month.
Finally, additional funding has been provided local authorities in Tier 3, to enable them to support businesses which can remain open but which are nonetheless severely affected by restrictions on socialising.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the adequacy of (a) funding for education and (b) skills provision to support the unemployed.
Answered by Steve Barclay
Treasury Ministers regularly meet with the Secretary of State for Education to discuss education funding. The Government has committed to a £1 billion package to help students catch up on lost learning and £100 million to boost remote education. This is in addition to the £7.1 billion of core funding for schools announced at the 2019 spending round.
On skills provision to support the unemployed, in his Plan for Jobs, the Chancellor announced: new incentives to boost apprenticeships, funding to triple the number of traineeships and sector-based work academy placements, additional investment in the National Careers Service to support more adults with high quality careers guidance, and funding for school and college leavers to study high value courses when there are not employment opportunities available to them.
Additionally, from next April, adults who do not have a full Level 3 qualification will be able to take Level 3 qualifications in high value subjects for free. This support complements existing support for unemployed adults, funded through the Adult Education Budget.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will (a) conduct and (b) publish an equality impact assessment of the (i) financial and (ii) social measures the Government has taken to support people during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Treasury takes care to pay due regard to the equality impacts of its policy decisions relating to the Covid-19 outbreak, in line with all legal requirements and the Government’s commitment to promoting equality. There are internal procedural requirements and support in place for ensuring that such considerations inform decisions taken by Ministers.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the adequacy of funding for support for the unemployed.
Answered by Steve Barclay
I refer the Honourable Member to the written answer I gave on 16 October 2020 to Question 102900: questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-10-13/102900
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to ensure that businesses in the wedding industry can access suitable insurance for delays and cancellations resulting from the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen
The Government is working closely with the insurers, the trade bodies and regulators to understand what more the industry can do to support firms as the economy reopens. We also continue to gather and monitor information on how different sectors, including the wedding industry, are being affected by the current crisis and the availability of cover.
The Government would need to assess access to insurance alongside any other barriers to a sector re-opening, such as social distancing restrictions, when determining the appropriate course of action.
Wedding operators are eligible for assistance through the wider Government support package if they are in financial difficulty. We continue to keep this package under close review.