Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to mitigate the potential effect of the introduction of off-payroll legislation on the economic recovery of businesses during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government delayed the implementation of the reform to the off-payroll working rules to 6 April 2021 as part of the additional support provided for businesses and individuals to deal with the economic impacts of COVID-19.

HMRC have used the time afforded by delaying the reform to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the education and support package offered during 2019/20. This has informed the design of an enhanced programme of targeted support for all businesses, public bodies and charities affected by the reform ahead of implementation in April 2021. This includes topic-based webinars and workshops, as well as targeted one-to-one calls with affected businesses. This is further supported by updated off-payroll guidance, online learning and attendance at stakeholder events.

The reform of the off-payroll working rules is important in addressing the unfairness of non-compliance with the existing rules and protects against significant revenue being lost each year as a result. At Budget 2020, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility estimated the total yield from the off-payroll reform to be about £4.1 billion by 2024/25.