Viscount Trenchard

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced additional measures to support businesses and organisations that have been impacted by the pandemic. So long as they fulfil the criteria for these measures, businesses in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors will benefit from these measures.

This includes the Government stepping in to help pay people’s wages – a scheme which is one of the most generous of any in the world – and paying grants to support as many jobs as necessary. Any employer in the country who promises to retain their staff can apply for a grant to cover most of the cost of paying people’s wages. Government grants will cover 80 per cent of the salary of retained workers up to a total of £2,500 a month, with this limit set well above the median income. The cost of wages will be backdated to 1st March and will be open for at least three months. The Government will consider extending the scheme for longer if necessary.

We are also deferring the next three months of VAT, a direct injection of £33 billion of cash to employers which means no business will pay any VAT in March, April or May; and they will have until the end of the financial year to repay those bills.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme will now be interest free for twelve months, an extension from the initial announcement of six months. We have already introduced and announced an extension to the Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which is for small and medium-sized businesses. On 17 March, the Chancellor expanded the amount that can be borrowed from £1.2 million to £5 million.

The Chancellor has also announced measures to protect the self-employed. As long as they fulfil the necessary criteria, freelancers and the self-employed in the music industry will benefit from these measures. The Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will support self-employed individuals (including members of partnerships) whose income has been negatively impacted by COVID-19. The scheme will provide a grant to self-employed individuals or partnerships, worth 80% of their profits up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

The FCDO has completed the sale of an under-used part of our Tokyo compound to Mitsubishi Estates, while retaining the Chancery building and its historic frontage. In line with our ambitions for the Indo-Pacific tilt, this sale gives us the opportunity to modernise and upgrade our Tokyo embassy to ensure it is truly representative of the best of Britain, including through sustainable and inclusive design, whilst also preserving its heritage buildings. The sale has maximised value for money for the British taxpayer, funding much-needed investment not just in Tokyo but also elsewhere in our global estate. The Japanese Government has been kept informed of our plans.

The FCDO has completed the sale of an under-used part of our Tokyo compound to Mitsubishi Estates, while retaining the Chancery building and its historic frontage. In line with our ambitions for the Indo-Pacific tilt, this sale gives us the opportunity to modernise and upgrade our Tokyo embassy to ensure it is truly representative of the best of Britain, including through sustainable and inclusive design, whilst also preserving its heritage buildings. The sale has maximised value for money for the British taxpayer, funding much-needed investment not just in Tokyo but also elsewhere in our global estate. The Japanese Government has been kept informed of our plans.

The FCDO's Spending Round settlement provides funds for the maintenance of the diplomatic estate. The disposal of surplus, under-used and uneconomic assets releases capital to enable us to invest in the estate. Taken together, this provides much needed investment in the FCDO's wider diplomatic estate, providing modern, fit for purpose offices and residences, tackling a large deficit of health and safety, backlog building maintenance and security-related needs across Europe, Africa and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region, and funding various projects to help towards the FCDO's Net Zero ambitions.

The grant provided in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is not weighted for London. Any UK organisation with employees can apply for cash grants of 80% of employees’ wages up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

This grant is not designed to subsidise those on very high wages. The cap of £2,500 per month is above the UK median earnings level.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced new support for the self-employed on 26 March 2020.

The new Self-Employed Income Support Scheme will help those with lost trading profits due to COVID-19. It will allow eligible individuals to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of their trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for the next 3 months. This may be extended if needed and is one of the most generous self-employed support schemes in the world.

To qualify, an individual’s self-employed trading profits must be less than £50,000 and more than half of their income comes from self-employment. 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment will be eligible for this scheme.

HM Revenue & Customs will contact individuals if they are eligible for and invite them to apply online using a simple form. HMRC are working on this urgently and expect people to be able to access the Scheme no later than the beginning of June.

More information about the Scheme, including the full eligibility criteria and how to claim, is available on GOV.UK.

The Scheme supplements the significant support already announced for UK businesses and employees, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and deferral of tax payments.

More information about the full range of business support measures is available on GOV.UK.

The Government has made representations to the European Commission to suggest that the reviews of the Deposit Guarantee Scheme Directive coverage level in non-euro states should occur after the Commission completes its review of suitability of the coverage level as a whole and also that changes for non-euro states reflect genuine, very large and lasting changes in exchange rates.

Defence Ministers are very grateful for the hard work of the External Scrutiny Team (EST). Alistair Carns DSO MC OBE, Minister for Veterans and People, expressed this sentiment on 17 December 2024, when he placed a copy in the Library of the House of the EST’s Annual Statutory Report 2024 on the health of the Reserve Forces.

Defence is clear that the EST is indeed independent, since it directs its own business, and we would aim to ensure that this independence is maintained if the Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Associations are converted into a Non-Departmental Public Body.

Defence Ministers greatly value the independent reports produced by the External Scrutiny Team (EST). The future of the EST will likely be a topic for discussion once the new Armed Forces Commissioner is appointed. We would seek to retain the independence of the EST if there are any changes to the extant arrangements.

I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 29 January 2025, to Question HL4334.

Defence Ministers are very grateful for the hard work of the External Scrutiny Team (EST) led by Maj Gen (Retd) Simon Lalor. My hon. Friend Alistair Carns DSO MC OBE, Minister for Veterans and People, expressed the same sentiment on 17 December 2024, when he placed a copy in the Library of the House the EST’s Annual Statutory Report 2024 on the health of the Reserve Forces. A copy of that Report and Alistair Carns’ response can be found at the following link: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-12-17/hcws326

I am clear that the EST is indeed independent, since it directs its own business, and I greatly value its reports as a result. The future of the EST will likely be a topic for discussion once the new Armed Forces Commissioner is appointed.