Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential long-term effects of the covid-19 outbreak on women’s (a) pay and (b) employment.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government continues to monitor the impact of Covid-19 on women and men in the labour market; however, the economic evidence of the impact of the pandemic is still emerging and inconclusive.
The Government has provided unprecedented support to protect and support jobs. For claims received up to 31st July 2020, 4.5 million jobs held by women had been supported by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme since its introduction. The latest data shows that at the end of August, 1.6 million jobs with a female employee were still being supported by the furlough scheme across the UK. In the Plan for Jobs, the Government announced a wide-ranging package of measures to support jobs which will help women across the country, including almost £900m to double the number of work coaches to 27,000 this year and the £2bn Kickstart Scheme, which will create hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people (16-24) at risk of long-term unemployment across Great Britain.
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, we know women have seen a smaller fall in employment than men, both in relative and absolute terms. Compared to the quarter ending February 2020, there were 200,000 fewer women employed in the quarter ending September 2020, whereas there were 370,000 fewer men employed. This implies a fall of 1.3% in female employment and 2.1% fall in male employment. The gender employment rate gap is at its lowest level on record at 6.6 percentage points.
Between April 2019 and April 2020, women’s median weekly pay increased by 2.5%, while men’s median weekly pay fell by 0.7%. The gender pay gap is also at its lowest level since records began, falling to a record low of 15.5%, from 17.4% last year.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to tackle (a) gender, (b) race and (c) socioeconomic inequality as part of his Winter Economic Plan.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government considers the equality impacts of individual policies on those with protected characteristics carefully and consistently, in line with both its legal obligations and its strong commitment to equality; and there are internal procedural requirements and support in place for ensuring that such considerations inform decisions taken by Ministers.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure the covid-19 outbreak does not increase (a) job security, (b) job opportunity and (c) pay inequalities among men and women.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
To help protect people’s job security, the Government announced the unprecedented Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms keep millions of people in employment. Up to 30th June 4.5 million female employees have been supported through the Government’s furlough scheme. With the announcement of the Winter Economy Plan, the Government is adapting its response to the changing context, as we said we would. The Job Support Scheme will provide more targeted support, aimed at viable businesses who are facing lower demand due to Covid-19 to help keep their employees in work.
Alongside this, the government has announced additional support for working parents. Any working parent usually eligible for Tax Free Childcare or 30 hours free childcare will temporarily remain eligible if they fall below the minimum income requirement due to COVID-19. This supports individuals with childcare commitments who are temporarily working less as result of Covid-19. An IFS report (https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/publications/bns/BN223.pdf) found that gender differences in rates of part-time and fulltime paid work account for approximately half of the widening of the gender wage gap over the 20 years after the first child in a family is born, highlighting the importance of childcare for reducing pay inequalities between men and women.
Since 1 June, early years settings have already been able to welcome back children of all ages. The Government is continuing to work to understand how it can ensure that sufficient safe, appropriate and affordable childcare is available. Providers who run community activities, holiday clubs, breakfast and after-school clubs, tuition and other out-of-school provision for children can now operate with protective measures in place
In its Plan for Jobs, the Government has announced unprecedented support to help unemployed people in Great Britain find a job. We are providing £1.2bn to significantly expand and enhance work search support, including doubling the number of work coaches, additional investment into the Flexible Support Fund to provide direct support at a local level, and using externally contracted provision to expand support even further.
Recognising that young people are particularly at risk, the government has also launched a new £2bn Kickstart Scheme, creating hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people across Great Britain, as well as a guaranteed foundation of support to all 18-24 year olds on Universal Credit in the Intensive Worksearch group, through its new youth offer.
These measures will help provide job opportunities to women.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend eligibility criteria to new starters who missed the date for enrolment in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme due to (a) the date of starting a new job and (b) their employer’s choice of timing in submitting paperwork to HMRC.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has prioritised helping the greatest number of people as quickly as possible. For this reason, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has had to be set up to operate at significant scale and with limited manual intervention.
Extending the cut-off date beyond 19 March would significantly increase the risk of abuse and fraud, as claims could not be confidently verified against the risk of fraud using the data after 20 March, when the scheme became public.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing the £50,000 cap for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme to allow people with profits in excess of that cap to access financial support.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) helps those adversely affected by COVID-19. Individuals can at present claim a taxable grant under the SEISS worth 80 per cent of their average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months’ worth of profits, and capped at £7,500 in total.
The extension of the SEISS announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 29 May 2020 means that eligible individuals whose businesses are adversely affected by COVID-19 will be able to claim a second and final grant when the scheme reopens for applications in August. This will be a taxable grant worth 70 per cent of their average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months’ worth of profits, and capped at £6,570 in total.
The SEISS is designed to target help at those who most need it. Those who had more than £50,000 from trading profits in 2018-19 had an average total income of more than £200,000.
Those with average trading profits above £50,000 may still be eligible for other elements of the unprecedented financial support package made available by the Government. These measures include Bounce Back Loans, tax deferrals, rental support, increased levels of Universal Credit, mortgage holidays, and other business support grants.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to support freelancers and people on short-term PAYE contracts who are not entitled to support under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme or Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has prioritised helping the greatest number of people as quickly as possible, and the CJRS and SEISS have provided support to more than 11 million people across the country.
Those who are not eligible for the CJRS and SEISS may have access to other support that the Government is providing, including a package of temporary welfare measures, £3.2bn in funding for local authorities to support the most vulnerable people in society, mortgage payment holidays, and a nearly £1bn increase in support for renters through increases to the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what contingency plans his Department have made to support the economy in the event that a second wave of covid-19 requires a reintroduction of lockdown restrictions.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In March 2020 the Government put in place strict social distancing measures to slow the spread of the Coronavirus so that the NHS would not be overwhelmed. Alongside this, the Government introduced an unprecedented package of support for businesses and individuals, including the CJRS which has helped 1.1 million employers across the UK furlough 9.4 million jobs.
The Government has set out a phased, cautious approach to reopening our economy, so that we do not risk a second peak of the virus. The Government has produced COVID-19 secure practical guidelines to support businesses to reopen and for workers to feel confident, safe and empowered to return to work. Public Health England, the Joint Biosecurity Centre and NHS Test and Trace constantly monitor levels of infection across the country, and will work with local authorities to implement additional measures if needed.
The Chancellor has announced further support for those sectors hardest hit, with a £1.57 billion package for the arts, and a cut in VAT to 5% for accommodation, attractions and the hospitality sector, and on 8th July set out a package of measures to support jobs across the UK, including a Job Retention Bonus to help firms keep furloughed workers and a new £2 billion Kickstart Scheme to create hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to tackle potential increases in unemployment once the Government’s furlough scheme ends.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has a broad set of policies in place to support businesses and individuals during COVID-19. The Government has designed the next stage of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) by balancing the need to protect jobs against the need to restart the economy as the Covid-19 backdrop improves. The CJRS scheme must be temporary and the Government must ensure people can get back to work when it is safe to do so and get the UK economy up and running again.
The Government has recently announced its Plan for Jobs. In it, in order to protect workers and encourage employers to minimise redundancies, the Government introduced a Jobs Retention Bonus. This will ensure that UK employers will receive a one-off bonus of £1,000 for each furloughed employee who is still employed as of 31 January 2021.
The Government has also announced unprecedented support to help unemployed people in Great Britain find a job. The Government is providing £1.2bn to significantly expand and enhance work search support, including doubling the number of work coaches, additional investment into the Flexible Support Fund to provide direct support at a local level, and using externally contracted provision to expand support even further.
Recognising that young people are particularly at risk, the Government has also launched a new £2bn Kickstart Scheme, creating hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people across Great Britain, as well as a guaranteed foundation of support to all 18-24 year olds on Universal Credit in the Intensive Worksearch group, through its new youth offer.
In England, the Government will also support people to build the skills they need to get into work, including by providing funding to triple the number of traineeships and sector-based work academy placements, new payments to employers to hire apprentices, and new funding to expand the National Career Service.
In addition to what is outlined in the Plan for Jobs, those who struggle to find work for a longer period will also benefit from a new, large-scale employment support offer. Further details will be announced shortly.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will create a dedicated covid-19 hardship fund for sole traders and other self-employed people ineligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Self-employed individuals, including members of partnerships, are eligible for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) 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 no more than £50,000 and at least equal to their non-trading income.
Individuals who are not eligible for the SEISS may benefit from other elements of the unprecedented financial support provided by the Government. This package includes Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support,?mortgage holidays, and other business support grants. On 8 July, the Government introduced the new Plan for Jobs which will make available up to £30 billion to assist in creating, supporting and protecting jobs.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support people who are newly self-employed who started a business after April 2019 and do not qualify for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Self-employed individuals, including members of partnerships, are eligible for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) 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 no more than £50,000 and at least equal to their non-trading income.
Individuals who are not eligible for the SEISS may benefit from other elements of the unprecedented financial support provided by the Government. This package includes Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support,?mortgage holidays, and other business support grants. On 8 July, the Government introduced the new Plan for Jobs which will make available up to £30 billion to assist in creating, supporting and protecting jobs.