Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what additional support he is making available to (a) nightclub DJs and (b) other freelance workers in industries closed as a result of covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Following the implementation of further national restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus, the Government has announced additional economic measures to give individuals the flexibility to adjust and plan over the coming months. These include:

- An extension to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until 2 December, allowing eligible employees to receive 80% of their usual salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month.

- The Government has announced more generous support to the self-employed, who will now receive 80% of average trading profits in November. As SEISS grants are calculated over 3 months, this increases the total level of the grant to 55% of trading profits for November to January and the maximum grant will increase to £5,160. We will also be paying this out more quickly by bringing forward the SEISS 3 claims window from 14 December to 30 November.

- An extension of existing government-backed loan schemes and Future Fund to the end of January and an ability to top-up Bounce Back Loans

These measures, on top of the £200 billion package of support we have committed since the beginning of the crisis, will ensure that freelancers, including night-club DJs, who temporarily cannot trade or have suffered reduced demand due to the pandemic are supported over the winter.

In order to support those individuals who are not eligible for the existing package of measures, the Government has also made the welfare system more generous - worth £9.3bn according to recent OBR estimates. This includes a £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit (UC) standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element, and a nearly £1bn increase in support for renters through increases to the Local Housing Allowance rates for UC and Housing Benefit claimants.