Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will further extend the start date of the furlough scheme to employees who were on their employees payroll after the 19 March 2020 to enable people who started new jobs towards the end of March 2020 to be furloughed; and if he will make a statement.

On 15 April, the Government announced it would extend the cut-off date for the CJRS to 19 March, to include employees whose payroll information was notified to HMRC by 19 March. Processing claims for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in cases where HMRC did not have RTI data by 19 March would require much greater manual handling by HMRC, which would significantly slow down the system while risking substantial levels of fraud. It would also require greater resource for HMRC when they are already under significant pressure to deliver the system designed. Those not eligible for the scheme may be able to access the other support Government is providing, including a package of temporary welfare measures and up to three months’ mortgage payment holidays for those struggling with their mortgage payments.