Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to help provide new employment opportunities to people affected by the covid-19 outbreak in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry.

Throughout the pandemic, the Government’s economic priority has been to protect jobs and livelihoods across the UK, including in Coventry North East and Coventry.

Alongside unprecedented support for businesses, we have protected jobs through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), which were extended to September 2021 in the Budget. Provisional HMRC statistics indicate that there were 7,300 jobs furloughed in Coventry North East constituency and 20,200 in Coventry as at 31 January 2021. Across the first three SEISS grants, there were a total of 28,100 claims within the Coventry Unitary Authority, totalling over £71 million.

For those who have unfortunately lost their job, the Government’s Plan for Jobs has put in place a comprehensive package of support to help people find work. At the Spending Review 2020 we provided £3.6 billion additional funding in 2021-22 for DWP to deliver employment support to those who need it most. This includes funding for Job Centres Plus to sustain the doubling of the number of work coaches; the £2 billion Kickstart scheme; and the new 3-year long £2.9 billion Restart programme.

To continue to support low income families, at Budget the Government announced a six-month extension to the temporary £20 per week uplift to the Universal Credit (UC) standard allowance. The Government has also announced similar support for eligible Working Tax Credit (WTC) claimants, where we will provide a one-off £500 payment in April.

Taken together, these measures will help to protect jobs, support low income families and help people into new employment opportunities in Coventry and Coventry North East.