Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to extend the Eat Out to Help Out scheme to include take-away outlets.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Eat Out to Help Out is designed to encourage people to return to eating out in order to support restaurants, pubs, cafes and other dine-in establishments, which have been severely affected by COVID-19 due to closures and the impact of social distancing. In doing so, it will help support 1.8 million jobs disproportionately occupied by young, female, part-time workers, in the bottom half of incomes.
Hot takeaway food and drinks will benefit from the temporary VAT reduced rate for hospitality from 15 July 2020 to 12 January 2021.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing further financial support to gyms and leisure facilities that remain unable to reopen to the public as a result of the covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Government has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency. Gyms and leisure facilities continue to have access to a range of support measures including, but not limited to:
The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible and how to apply - https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder.
On 11 May the Government published its COVID-19 recovery strategy which sets out our plan for moving to the next phase of our response. The strategy sets out a cautious roadmap for easing existing measures in a safe and measured way. On 23 June, the Prime Minister announced that several currently closed sectors will be allowed to reopen from 4 July, with appropriate mitigants in place, as set out in the COVID-secure guidance that departments have been working on. This includes:
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to establish a hardship fund for self-employed people facing financial hardship during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The new Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) helps those adversely affected by COVID-19. The scheme allows eligible individuals to claim a taxable grant worth 80 per cent of their average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months, and capped at £7,500 in total. Self-employed individuals, including members of partnerships, are eligible if they have submitted their Income Tax Self Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19, continued to trade, and have been adversely affected by COVID-19. To qualify, their self-employed trading profits must be less than £50,000, with more than half of their income from self-employment. Some 95 per cent of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment could benefit from this scheme. The Chancellor will keep the scheme under review.
Individuals may have access to a range of grants and loans depending on their circumstances, and the self-employed can benefit from the Government’s relaxation of the earnings rules (known as the Minimum Income Floor) in Universal Credit. The SEISS supplements the significant support already announced for UK businesses, including the Bounce Back Loan Scheme for small businesses, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the deferral of tax payments. More information about the full range of business support measures is available at www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19.