Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme beyond 30 September 2021 until at least March 2022 for people who work within small- and medium-sized enterprises within the travel industry.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
After nineteen months, the unprecedented Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) closed on 30 September 2021. Since the scheme’s inception, the CJRS supported 11.6 million jobs across the UK, with employer claims totalling £68.5 billion, aiding businesses and protecting livelihoods. It was right to provide exceptional support while widespread Covid restrictions were in place. As the economy has reopened, the jobs market has recovered, vacancies are at record highs and the success of the government’s vaccine programme has allowed us to lift almost all restrictions. As set out in the Plan for Jobs: Progress Update published on 13 September 2021, this approach has worked. It is right that we continue to wind down our temporary pandemic support, while continuing to support businesses to invest in the recovery, and supporting people into new jobs.
Our Plan for Jobs will continue to create jobs and ensure support for business continues, especially for those sectors most affected by necessary restrictions and which may take longer to bounce back, such as the travel and tourism industry. The following support package remains in place for businesses:
o Over 90% of eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England are still benefitting from a 66% cut in business rates until 31 March 2022 – worth over £16bn since March 2020.
o Hospitality and tourism firms are also still benefitting from a VAT reduction – paying only 12.5% in VAT from 1 October 2021 until 31 March 2022. This supports around 150,000 businesses, helping to protect 2.4 million jobs.
o The arts and culture sector can still access support from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help protect jobs across the country, which was topped up at the Spring Budget by a further £390m.
o Businesses continue to be able to access finance thanks to the Recovery Loan Scheme until the end of the year, and are protected from eviction if they are behind on rent on their premises until next March.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of ending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme on the aviation industry.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was designed as a temporary, economy-wide measure to support businesses while widespread restrictions were in place. The scheme closed at the end of September, striking the right balance between supporting the economy as it opens up, continuing to provide support and protect incomes, and ensuring incentives are in place to get people back to work as demand returns. This approach has worked; the OBR have estimated that without the short-term fiscal easing announced in the Budget, and in particular the CJRS extension, unemployment would have otherwise been around 300,000 higher in the fourth quarter of this year than the 2.2 million in the central forecast.
Furthermore England has relaxed the rules on international travel, which will support the recovery of the aviation industry. A new system for a safe and sustainable return to travel has been set out, which separates countries into a red list and rest of world. As of Monday 11 October, England’s red list was reduced to just 7 countries, with 47 countries coming off the red list. Passengers fully vaccinated with an authorised vaccine arriving in England from non-red countries or territories will only need to take a day two test and will not need to self-isolate or take a pre-departure or day eight test. From 24 October fully vaccinated passengers arriving in England from countries not on the red list can take a cheaper lateral flow test, instead of a PCR test, on or before Day 2 of their arrival into the UK. Anyone who tests positive will need to take a confirmatory PCR test which can be genomically sequenced to help identify new variants.
Eligible travellers vaccinated in over 100 countries and territories including Brazil, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey can avoid self-isolation, pre-departure testing and day eight testing requirements on arrival to the UK from non-red countries and territories, like UK vaccinated adults.
The Government recognises the particular challenges the aviation industry has faced as a result of Covid-19. The aviation and aerospace sectors are being supported with over £12 billion that has been made available through loan guarantees, support for exporters, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) and grants for research and development.
The Government has shown throughout the pandemic that it is prepared to adapt support if the path of the virus changes. We continue to engage closely with sectors across the economy, including the aviation, travel and tourism industries, to understand their recovery horizons as the vaccine is rolled out and restrictions ease.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will make provisions to support small and medium-sized enterprises in the travel sector beyond 30 September 2021 when the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ends.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has provided over £35 billion in support to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors over the course of the pandemic and is committed to supporting the safe return of tourism to the UK, as set out in the Government's Tourism Recovery Plan published in June.
Businesses across the economy, including the travel industry, can draw on over £350 billion worth of loans, rates relief, VAT deferrals and the furlough scheme, the latter of which ended on 30 September. The Government continues to take a flexible approach and keep all impacts and policies under review.
The Government is regularly engaging with travel industry bodies - such as UKInbound, the European Tour Operators Association and the Association of British Travel Agents - to monitor the pandemic’s impact and to support the sector’s recovery.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to protect jobs in the travel industry after the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has provided over £35 billion in support to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors over the course of the pandemic in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks.
For example, the Government cut VAT for tourism and hospitality activities to 5% last July, with this significantly reduced rate remaining until the end of this month. To help businesses manage the transition back to the standard rate, a 12.5% rate will then apply for a further six months.
We are committed to supporting tourism’s return to pre-pandemic levels ahead of independent forecasts, as set out in the Government's Tourism Recovery Plan published in June. The Government is regularly engaging with stakeholders, including via the Tourism Industry Council, to monitor the pandemic’s impact and to support the sector’s recovery.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to provide (a) long-term financial support and (b) guidance to the travel and tourism sectors in (i) Edinburgh West and (ii) the UK to help those sectors recover from the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government has provided over £35 billion in support to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors over the course of the pandemic in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks.
The government also cut the rate of VAT for certain UK-wide supplies in the tourism and hospitality sectors to 5% in July 2021, with this significantly reduced rate remaining until the end of this month. To help businesses manage the transition back to the standard rate, a 12.5% rate will then apply for a further six months until the end of March 2022.
VisitBritain, the national tourist board, worked in collaboration with the tourist boards of the devolved administrations to develop the UK-Wide ‘Good to Go’ COVID-19 Secure Industry Standard, currently in use by over 45,000 tourism businesses.
The Tourism Recovery Plan points to a number of UK-wide initiatives, like the £10 million National Lottery Days Out campaign due to launch in October. This will stimulate demand for more off-season day trips to tourist sites across the UK this autumn.
The plan also announced a new rail pass launching later this fiscal year to help make it easier and more sustainable for domestic tourists to get around. The pass is planned to be available in Scotland, England and Wales.
I will continue to work together with my devolved counterparts to assess how we can most effectively support the tourism sector’s recovery.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme on employment levels in the travel and aviation sectors.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was designed as a temporary, economy-wide measure to support businesses while widespread restrictions were in place. Closing the scheme at the end of September is designed to strike the right balance between supporting the economy as it opens up, continuing to provide support and protect incomes, and ensuring that incentives are in place to get people back to work as demand returns. This approach has worked; the OBR have estimated that without the short-term fiscal easing announced in the Budget, and in particular the CJRS extension, unemployment would have been about 300,000 higher in the fourth quarter of this year than the 2.2 million in the central forecast.
The Government recognises the particular challenges that the travel industry has faced as a result of COVID-19. In England travel agents have recently benefited from Restart Grants worth up to £6,000, and can continue to benefit from the £2 billion of discretionary grant funding that has been made available to local authorities in England through the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG). Furthermore, the aviation and aerospace sectors are being supported with over £12 billion that has been made available through loan guarantees, support for exporters, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) and grants for research and development. In addition, airports continue to benefit from the renewed Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme announced at Budget.
The Global Travel Taskforce (GTT) report sets out a clear framework for the Government’s objective of establishing a safe and sustainable return to international travel, which is key to enabling the sector’s recovery. It has been created following extensive engagement with the international travel and tourism industries, and changes following the recent checkpoint review of the GTT are a vital step in enabling the recovery of travel operators and those whose jobs rely on the travel industry.
The Government has shown throughout the pandemic that it is prepared to adapt support if the path of the virus changes. It continues to engage closely with sectors across the economy, including the travel industry, in order to understand their recovery horizons as the vaccine is rolled out and restrictions ease.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the travel and aviation industry to explore the potential merits of extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for those sectors.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was designed as a temporary, economy-wide measure to support businesses while widespread restrictions were in place. Closing the scheme at the end of September is designed to strike the right balance between supporting the economy as it opens up, continuing to provide support and protect incomes, and ensuring that incentives are in place to get people back to work as demand returns. This approach has worked; the OBR have estimated that without the short-term fiscal easing announced in the Budget, and in particular the CJRS extension, unemployment would have been about 300,000 higher in the fourth quarter of this year than the 2.2 million in the central forecast.
The Government recognises the particular challenges that the travel industry has faced as a result of COVID-19. In England travel agents have recently benefited from Restart Grants worth up to £6,000, and can continue to benefit from the £2 billion of discretionary grant funding that has been made available to local authorities in England through the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG). Furthermore, the aviation and aerospace sectors are being supported with over £12 billion that has been made available through loan guarantees, support for exporters, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) and grants for research and development. In addition, airports continue to benefit from the renewed Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme announced at Budget.
The Global Travel Taskforce (GTT) report sets out a clear framework for the Government’s objective of establishing a safe and sustainable return to international travel, which is key to enabling the sector’s recovery. It has been created following extensive engagement with the international travel and tourism industries, and changes following the recent checkpoint review of the GTT are a vital step in enabling the recovery of travel operators and those whose jobs rely on the travel industry.
The Government has shown throughout the pandemic that it is prepared to adapt support if the path of the virus changes. It continues to engage closely with sectors across the economy, including the travel industry, in order to understand their recovery horizons as the vaccine is rolled out and restrictions ease.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until April 2022 for the travel industry; and what additional steps he is taking to provide ongoing support to the travel industry.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was designed as a temporary, economy-wide measure to support businesses while widespread restrictions were in place. Closing the scheme at the end of September is designed to strike the right balance between supporting the economy as it opens up, continuing to provide support and protect incomes, and ensuring that incentives are in place to get people back to work as demand returns. This approach has worked; the OBR have estimated that without the short-term fiscal easing announced in the Budget, and in particular the CJRS extension, unemployment would have been about 300,000 higher in the fourth quarter of this year than the 2.2 million in the central forecast.
The Government recognises the particular challenges that the travel industry has faced as a result of COVID-19. In England travel agents have recently benefited from Restart Grants worth up to £6,000, and can continue to benefit from the £2 billion of discretionary grant funding that has been made available to local authorities in England through the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG). Furthermore, the travel sector is being supported with over £12 billion that has been made available through loan guarantees and support for exporters. In addition, airports continue to benefit from the renewed Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme announced at Budget.
The Global Travel Taskforce (GTT) report sets out a clear framework for the Government’s objective of establishing a safe and sustainable return to international travel, which is key to enabling the sector’s recovery. It has been created following extensive engagement with the international travel and tourism industries, and changes following the recent checkpoint review of the GTT are a vital step in enabling the recovery of travel operators and those whose jobs rely on the travel industry.
The Government has shown throughout the pandemic that it is prepared to adapt support if the path of the virus changes. It continues to engage closely with sectors across the economy, including the travel industry, in order to understand their recovery horizons as the vaccine is rolled out and restrictions ease.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme on employment in the airline sector.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was designed as a temporary, economy-wide measure to support businesses while widespread restrictions were in place. Closing the scheme at the end of September is designed to strike the right balance between supporting the economy as it opens up, continuing to provide support and protect incomes, and ensuring that incentives are in place to get people back to work as demand returns. This approach has worked; the OBR have estimated that without the short-term fiscal easing announced in the Budget, and in particular the CJRS extension, unemployment would have been about 300,000 higher in the fourth quarter of this year than the 2.2 million in the central forecast.
The Government recognises the particular challenges that the travel industry has faced as a result of COVID-19. In England travel agents have recently benefited from Restart Grants worth up to £6,000, and can continue to benefit from the £2 billion of discretionary grant funding that has been made available to local authorities in England through the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG). Furthermore, the travel sector is being supported with over £12 billion that has been made available through loan guarantees and support for exporters. In addition, airports continue to benefit from the renewed Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme announced at Budget.
The Global Travel Taskforce (GTT) report sets out a clear framework for the Government’s objective of establishing a safe and sustainable return to international travel, which is key to enabling the sector’s recovery. It has been created following extensive engagement with the international travel and tourism industries, and changes following the recent checkpoint review of the GTT are a vital step in enabling the recovery of travel operators and those whose jobs rely on the travel industry.
The Government has shown throughout the pandemic that it is prepared to adapt support if the path of the virus changes. It continues to engage closely with sectors across the economy, including the travel industry, in order to understand their recovery horizons as the vaccine is rolled out and restrictions ease.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for specific sectors, such as aerospace and aviation, to avoid redundancies due to reduced orders as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was designed as a temporary, economy-wide measure to support businesses while widespread restrictions were in place. Closing the scheme at the end of September is designed to strike the right balance between supporting the economy as it opens up, continuing to provide support and protect incomes, and ensuring that incentives are in place to get people back to work as demand returns. This approach has worked; the OBR have estimated that without the short-term fiscal easing announced in the Budget, and in particular the CJRS extension, unemployment would have been about 300,000 higher in the fourth quarter of this year than the 2.2 million in the central forecast.
The Government recognises the particular challenges that the travel industry has faced as a result of COVID-19. In England travel agents have recently benefited from Restart Grants worth up to £6,000, and can continue to benefit from the £2 billion of discretionary grant funding that has been made available to local authorities in England through the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG). Furthermore, the aviation and aerospace sectors are being supported with over £12 billion that has been made available through loan guarantees, support for exporters, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) and grants for research and development. In addition, airports continue to benefit from the renewed Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme announced at Budget.
The Global Travel Taskforce (GTT) report sets out a clear framework for the Government’s objective of establishing a safe and sustainable return to international travel, which is key to enabling the sector’s recovery. It has been created following extensive engagement with the international travel and tourism industries, and changes following the recent checkpoint review of the GTT are a vital step in enabling the recovery of travel operators and those whose jobs rely on the travel industry.
The Government has shown throughout the pandemic that it is prepared to adapt support if the path of the virus changes. It continues to engage closely with sectors across the economy, including the travel industry, in order to understand their recovery horizons as the vaccine is rolled out and restrictions ease.