Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether respite and day carers for children and adults that are unable to work as a result of the covid-19 outbreak are eligible for financial support from the Government.

Individuals who are unable to work as a result of COVID-19 may have access to support through either the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) or the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

To be eligible for the CJRS, employees must have been on their employer’s PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020 and HMRC must have received an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before 19 March 2020. Eligible employees can be on any type of employment contract, including full-time, part-time, agency, fixed-term, flexible or zero hour contracts.

The SEISS will allow eligible individuals to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months, and capped at £7,500 in total. Self-employed individuals, including members of partnerships, are eligible if they have submitted their Income Tax Self-Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19, continued to trade, and have been adversely affected by COVID-19. To qualify, their self-employed trading profits must be less than £50,000, with more than half of their income deriving from self-employment. Some 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment could benefit from this scheme, based on 2017-18 data.

Those not eligible for these schemes may have access to other support Government is providing, including a package of temporary welfare measures and up to three months’ mortgage payment holidays for those in difficulty with mortgage payments.