Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to extend business rates relief to solicitors firms which occupy premises with a rateable value in excess of £15,000.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has not made an estimate.
The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.
A range of further measures to support all businesses, including solicitors, has also been made available. For example, the Government has launched the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms keep people in employment, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank backed by an 80% Government guarantee, and is deferring VAT payments for this quarter.
The Government will consider any further financial assistance necessary to help businesses get through this period.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of solicitors firms that occupy premises with a rateable value in excess of £15,000 and are not eligible for business rates relief.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has not made an estimate.
The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.
A range of further measures to support all businesses, including solicitors, has also been made available. For example, the Government has launched the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms keep people in employment, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank backed by an 80% Government guarantee, and is deferring VAT payments for this quarter.
The Government will consider any further financial assistance necessary to help businesses get through this period.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether public sector organisations can re-hire employees who stopped working for them on or after 28 February 2020 for the purposes of furloughing them through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
If an individual was made redundant or stopped working for a public sector employer after 28 February, the employer can agree to re-employ that individual and place them on furlough, provided that the individual is not on furlough from another organisation.
Before furloughing individuals, public sector employers should first explore opportunities for the individual to be re-employed and redeployed elsewhere in the public sector, and should only claim through the scheme in line with guidance for public sector employers on the appropriate use of the scheme and the receipt of public funding.
The employer is under no obligation to re-employ and furlough staff.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits for charities of raising the rateable value threshold for the Coronavirus Business Rates Relief scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The twelve-month business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure properties applies to all properties used for these purposes, regardless of their rateable value.
There is a rateable value threshold for the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund (RHLGF). The RHLGF has been designed to help small businesses in some of the sectors which have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. Only properties used for retail, hospitality or leisure purposes with a rateable value of under £51,000 can access grants under that scheme. £51,000 is the accepted threshold in the business rates system for a “small” business, as only businesses which occupy properties with a rateable value of less than £51,000 can benefit from the Small Business Multiplier rate. This threshold applies across England, thus providing a straightforward existing basis which Local Authorities can use to issue grants.
Larger businesses and charities may have access to other forms of support which the Government has announced, such as the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
The Government continues to monitor the economic situation and is keeping support to businesses and other organisations under review.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that company directors who receive part of their income through an salary paid annually are eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
For an employee, including company directors, to be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, they must have been notified to HMRC on a real-time information (RTI) submission on or before 19 March.
Those paid annually are eligible to claim, as long as they meet the relevant conditions, including being notified to HMRC on an RTI submission on or before 19 March 2020 which relates to a payment of earnings in the 2019/20 tax year.
The 19 March cut-off date allows as many people as possible to be included by going right up to the day before the announcement, while mitigating the risk of fraud.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support is available to hire and passenger boat companies who are ineligible for Government grant schemes because they do not operate from rateable premises.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency including almost £300 billion of guarantees – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP. Hire and passenger boat companies, along with other businesses, may benefit from a range of support measures including:
The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible, when the schemes open and how to apply - https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure that passenger boat companies that do not operate from rateable premises are eligible to apply for support from the Government's covid-19 support schemes.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency including almost £300 billion of guarantees – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP. Hire and passenger boat companies, along with other businesses, may benefit from a range of support measures including:
The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible, when the schemes open and how to apply - https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend Government financial support for (a) English Language Teaching centres and (b) other seasonal industries after the covid-10 lockdown has ended.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The government is making sure that people and businesses have access to the support they need as quickly as possible. The English language teaching sector and other seasonal industries can apply for additional support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme where they meet the criteria for these schemes. On 12 May, the Government announced that the CJRS will continue to the end of October. The Chancellor has been clear that getting people back to work will be introduced in a measured way, avoiding a cliff edge.Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to support businesses that had applications for covid-19 grant funding declined because (a) their business rates are included in their rent or (b) their offices are based from home.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government is aware that some small businesses have found themselves excluded from the existing business grants schemes because of the way they interact with the business rates system. That is why the Government has allocated up to an additional £617 million to Local Authorities to enable them to give discretionary grants to businesses in this situation. The Government’s intention is for Local Authorities to prioritise the following types of business when making discretionary grants:
· Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible work spaces e.g. industrial parks, science parks, incubators etc, which do not have their own business rates assessment;
· Regular market traders who do not have their own business rates assessment;
· B&Bs which pay Council Tax instead of business rates; and
· Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief.
Local Authorities may choose to focus payments on those priority groups which are most relevant to their local areas. Local Authorities may also choose to pay grants to businesses outside of these priority groups, according to local economic need, so long as the business was trading on 11th March, and has not received any other cash grant funded by central Government.
Businesses which cannot receive a grant from any of the grants schemes should still be able to benefit from other elements of the Government’s unprecedented package of economic support, including:
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department had with the Financial Conduct Authority on enforcing the payment of insurance claims arising from the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector about its contribution to handling this unprecedented situation. The Government is also working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure that the rules are being upheld during this crisis.
For those businesses which have an appropriate policy that covers government ordered closure and unspecified notifiable diseases, the Government’s social distancing instructions are sufficient to allow businesses to make a claim against their insurance, provided the other terms and conditions in their policy are met.
The FCA’s rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim, and appropriate information on its progress; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed. In addition, the FCA has said that, in light of COVID-19, insurers must consider very carefully the needs of their customers and show flexibility in their treatment of them.
Furthermore, on 15 April, FCA sent a letter to the insurance industry, setting out the FCA's expectation of firms regarding their handling of business interruption insurance claims, urging insurers to settle claims quickly in cases where there was a clear obligation to pay the claim in full or in part.
In addition, on 1 May, the FCA published a statement setting out their intention to seek legal clarity on the handling of business interruption insurance claims, in order to resolve any doubt for businesses facing uncertainty on their claims. In their statement the FCA also noted that insurers should look at how they can help consumers who are experiencing financial distress as a result of COVID-19.
However, most businesses have not purchased insurance that covers losses from COVID-19. Insurance policies differ significantly, so businesses are encouraged to check the terms and conditions of their specific policy and contact their providers.
The Government recognises that businesses who do not have appropriate insurance cover will require support from elsewhere. As such, businesses should explore the full package of support set out by the Chancellor, which includes measures such as business rates holidays, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and wage support.