Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of paying an immediate increase in child benefit of £10 per week in response to the covid-19 outbreak; and if she will make a statement.

Child Benefit will be increased in line with inflation from April as planned.

The government continually analyses the COVID-19 outbreak and its policies to support people during this time. At Budget, and in his announcements last week, the Chancellor committed to a targeted, multi-billion-pound package of unprecedented support for individuals, families and businesses affected by the virus, prioritising measures which are targeted on the most vulnerable and can be delivered safely and swiftly.

At Budget these measures included widening the scope of Statutory Sick Pay and made accessing benefits easier for those affected by COVID-19. Last week the government introduced further measures to support those on low-incomes, including an up-to £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element, a relaxation of earnings rules for self-employed Universal Credit claimants, and an increase in the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants to the 30^th percentile of market rents.