Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his oral statement of 5 November 2002, on Economy Update, what steps he is taking to ensure that people not eligible to access the (a) Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and (b) Self-Employment Income Support Scheme will have access to financial support in the period leading up to March 2021.

Throughout the pandemic, the Government’s priority has been to protect lives and livelihoods. Since the start of the pandemic the Government has provided support for people, businesses and public services totalling an estimated £200 billion.

Beyond the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and

Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, to support individuals further the Government has implemented a £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element until the end of March 2021. This means that for a single Universal Credit claimant (25 or over), the standard allowance will increase from £317.82 to £409.89 per month.

The £20 per week uplift is one part of a package of temporary welfare measures, which also includes the suspension of the Universal Credit Minimum Income Floor in order to support self-employed people on low incomes, and increases to the Local Housing Allowance rates for Housing Benefit and Universal Credit, which mean over 1 million households who rent privately will gain an average of £600 per year.

The Government has also given local authorities an additional £500 million to support the most vulnerable people in society, who may struggle to meet their council tax payments this year. The Government has requested that local authorities use the Hardship Fund grant to provide all recipients of working age local council tax support (LCTS) during the financial year 2020-21 with a further reduction in their annual council tax bill of £150. This funding is in addition to the £3.4bn which Local Authorities already spend on LCTS schemes each year, benefiting about 3.8 million people.

The Government is committed to supporting individuals financially through this difficult time and has put in place a comprehensive package of support for those told to self-isolate, extending Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) so that employees can claim it if they are asked to self-isolate, and changing the rules so that SSP is payable from day one rather than day four. In addition, people who are instructed to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace and are on low incomes, unable to work from home and will lose income as a result, may be entitled to a payment of £500 from their local authority.

The Government continues to keep policies under review, and it will continue to provide a comprehensive economic support package as public health measures change.