Economic Update

Zarah Sultana Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

I can tell my right hon. Friend that we have had extensive discussions with the banks just this week, and they have outlined their forbearance measures. I very much expect them to honour those commitments. He is absolutely right with his point that we will get through this as one United Kingdom.

[Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab)]

Today the Government have announced a mortgage holiday for homeowners, and that is welcome, but they have made the political choice not to give a rent suspension to millions of tenants. The average rent is £220 a week. Statutory sick pay is £94.25 a week. Before people are forced on to the streets because this virus will stop them from working, I, like many other Members in this House, call on the Government to follow the example of other countries and suspend rents and ban evictions today.

[Rishi Sunak]

The hon. Lady talks about other countries. If she looks at the overall scale of the fiscal interventions that we have outlined last week and this week, she will see they are more significant than almost every other country.