Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has made an assessment of the (a) costs and (b) merits of each of the restrictions during the covid-19 pandemic.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The previous Government spent up to £400 billion on pandemic related interventions and programmes including 11.7 million employees that were furloughed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, at a cost of £70 billion. 2.9m people on the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme received grants at a cost of £28bn.

The Chancellor has announced that she will appoint a Covid Corruption Commissioner, fulfilling a manifesto commitment. The main focus of the Commissioner will be pandemic PPE contracts. They will make sure everything that can be done, has been done, to get the public purse what it is owed.

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has now been established. As set out in its Terms of Reference, the Inquiry will examine, consider and report on preparations and the response to the pandemic. In doing so, the inquiry will help identify lessons learned. The Inquiry published its Module 1 report, focussing on resilience and preparedness in July 2024. The government will carefully consider the Inquiry’s findings and recommendations, and will respond within six months.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential (a) merits, (b) costs and (c) viability of establishing a financial compensation scheme for taxpayers who did not receive government financial support during the covid-19 pandemic.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Government currently has no plans to assess or pursue such a financial compensation scheme.

HM Treasury provided an extensive package of support for individuals, businesses and public services throughout the pandemic, including an estimated £98 billion through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). Together the schemes supported approximately 14.6 million employed and self-employed individuals, helping to protect jobs, businesses and livelihoods.

The previous Government provided support through the CJRS and SEISS based on two principles, a) targeting support at those who needed it most and b), guarding against error, fraud and abuse, whilst reaching as many individuals as possible. The SEISS paid out over £28 billion to nearly 3 million self-employed individuals and was one of the most generous schemes for the self-employed in the world. Those ineligible for the SEISS may have been eligible for other elements of financial support provided by the previous Government.

Found: market in res ponse to the COVID -19 pandemic: the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Self

Found: And, through the Self -Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), it paid £20 billion of grants in 2020

Found: And, through the Self -Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), it paid £20 billion of grants in 2020

Found: • Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS): SEISS was created to support self -employed ind

Found: Amounts received through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) for the self-employed are

Found: [Note 5] In 2020/21 and 2021/22, income amounts did not include grants received from the Self-Employment

Found: Contents[Note 1]Self employed incomes do not include any reported grant amounts received as part of the Self-Employment

Found: Note 40] Income from employment does not include any reported grant amounts received as part of the Self-Employment

Found: Contents [Note 1] Self employed incomes do not include any reported grant amounts received as part of the Self-Employment

Found: [Note 6]Self-employed incomes do not include any reported grant amounts received as part of the Self-Employment

Found: [Note 6] Self-employed incomes do not include any reported grant amounts received as part of the Self-Employment

Found: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme final evaluation 2023

Found: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme final evaluation 2023

Found: was set up to support employers in retaining their employees through the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Self-Employment

Found: 2018 to August 2023 16.6 Earnings and expenses 2020/21 saw the introduction of government’s Self-Employment