Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Plan for Jobs, published in July 2020, if he will extend (a) eligibility for the £1,000 bonus to employers who re-employ new starters who were not retained during the covid-19 outbreak and (b) an additional £1,000 bonus to those new starters directly.

Further information on the Bonus has been published at the end of July, including the eligibility criteria. Full guidance will be published by the end of September. Regarding labour retention and new starters, the relevant criteria is that the employee must have been continuously employed until 31 January 2021 and still be employed by the same employer as of 31 January 2021; and, not be serving a contractual or statutory notice period, that started before 1 February 2021, for the employer making a claim.

The Government’s comprehensive response to the COVID-19 outbreak ensures that there is a wide range of support available for those who may have not been retained by their employers. These include a £1,000 a year increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element, and a nearly £1 billion increase in support for renters through increases to the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants.