Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of changing the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme to help industries such as the steel industry that are experiencing a shortage of skilled workers to reduce the hours of their employees in preference to furlough.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is designed to help those who otherwise would have been made unemployed and provide support to businesses as quickly as possible. Allowing employers to move staff to part-time and claim the difference would have involved delay and substantially increased the risk of fraud. It is also inconsistent with public health guidance for people to stay at home. However, there is flexibility in the scheme as employers can decide how many staff to furlough, and staff can be furloughed multiple times while the scheme is in operation, provided they are furloughed for a minimum of 3 weeks.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits to industries such as the steel industry which are experiencing shortages of skilled workers of amending the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme to enable employers to furlough employees for shorter periods of time.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
To be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, firms must have created and started a PAYE payroll scheme on or before 19 March 2020, enrolled for PAYE online and have a UK bank account. Once on furlough, employees cannot work for their employer but they can undertake training or volunteer subject to public health guidance, so long as they are not making money for their employer or any organisation linked or associated with their association, or providing services to their employer or any organisation linked or associated with their association.
The arrangement between workers and their employers remains subject to negotiation. To be eligible for the scheme, each employee must be furloughed for a minimum of three weeks at a time. This is consistent with public health guidance seeking to minimise the number of people outside their homes on a regular basis. There is no restriction on the number of times an individual could be furloughed or the maximum period, other than the life of the scheme.
Employers may also be able to benefit from other schemes and measures such as the VAT deferral and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme. Further details can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) removing or (b) lowering the credit rating eligibility threshold for the Covid Corporate Financing Facility to enable larger corporates without the requisite credit rating to gain access to that scheme.
Answered by Steve Barclay
The facility is open to firms that can demonstrate they were in sound financial health prior to the shock, allowing the Government to look through temporary impacts on firms’ balance sheets and cash flows from the shock itself. If a firm believes it is the equivalent of investment grade, there are now two ways in which a firm can demonstrate this in order to be eligible for the CCFF:
• The company should speak to their bank, and if their bank’s advice is that the firm was viewed internally as investment grade as of 1st March, they should contact the Bank of England (CCFFeligibleissuers@bankofengland.co.uk). The BoE will then draw on a range of information, including banks’ internal ratings of a firm, to check whether the firm is equivalent to investment grade.
• The company or their bank can speak to the major credit ratings agencies to secure an assessment of credit quality in a form that can be shared with the BoE and HMT. Credit ratings agencies have been primed to process these assessments much more quickly than they normally take.
The CCFF is just one of a number of schemes; and the government has also launched the CBILS and CLBILs schemes, as well as making VAT deferral available, and protecting commercial leaseholders against automatic forfeiture for non-payment. Together the CBILS, CLBILS and CCFF ensure almost all viable UK businesses can apply for a government backed loan.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to workers who will be put on short-time working arrangements.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is not designed to subsidise part-time work but to support individuals who would otherwise have been made redundant. The minimum amount of time an employee can be furloughed for is three weeks, but the employer can decide on how many employees to furlough and can furlough them multiple times while the scheme is in operation.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether employees eligible for the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme will also qualify for additional state benefit support.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme announced in March will help firms keep millions of people in employment. Universal Credit is designed to adjust as income changes. Individuals who are furloughed will continue to be paid by their company. If their wages fall, this will be taken into account by the Universal Credit system. Under the Job Retention Scheme, employers will be required to pay employees at least 80% of their wages, up to £2,500 per month. Employers can top this up but they are not required to do so.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) vulnerable people and (b) the elderly who have been recommended to self-isolate for 12 weeks will be eligible for support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
In March, the Government announced the unprecedented Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms keep millions of people in employment. The scheme is open to any individual who was on an employer’s PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020 and for whom HMRC received an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before the 19 March 2020. Full guidance for employers and employees can be found at www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme and www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-could-be-covered-by-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce an immediate six-month moratorium on commercial lenders enforcing loan repayments during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen
The Government has announced an unprecedented support package to help businesses through this challenging time.
For larger businesses, this includes the new Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF), which will provide additional help for firms facing cash flow disruption, and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme launched on Monday 20 April. For small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) launched on 23 March which will help give lenders greater confidence to continue providing SMEs with finance through this uncertainty.
The Government welcomes the commitments made by the banking industry to support their customers’ finance needs, and will continue to work with the regulators and the industry to ensure the steps we have taken are effective in helping businesses through this period of uncertainty.
Any customer who is concerned about their current financial situation should get in touch with their lender at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss the best option for them.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal plans he has to support the pubs and breweries industry.
Answered by Simon Clarke
All taxes are kept under review and the impact of a change to beer duty is considered at each fiscal event, including its effect on pubs, breweries and the wider economy.