Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what dates he met and with which business representatives he discussed the design and closure of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme; and what the outcomes were of those discussions.

HM Treasury has been working closely with business representatives, unions, and Government colleagues to ensure that this decision works for both employers and employees and is coherent with the wider Government response. An Institute for Government report recently remarked “the quality and intensity of engagement on the CJRS and SEISS were described to us as being markedly different from normal experience of working with government.”

For example, the Treasury has engaged frequently with the Confederation of British Industry; the most recent meeting being alongside Trades Union Congress representatives on 7 September. The Chancellor attended this meeting and took on board the concerns and proposals raised. HM Treasury will continue to work with businesses, unions and representative groups as part of the Government’s continuing monitoring of the economy.