Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the costs incurred by HMRC in relation to preparations for the introduction of the Coronavirus Job Retention Bonus scheme, in the period from the announcement of the scheme on 8 July 2020 to the announcement that the scheme would not proceed on 5 November 2020; and whether these costs have been treated for accounting purposes as a constructive loss.

The expenditure incurred by HMRC in the development of the Coronavirus Job Retention Bonus Scheme were around £500,000.

The majority of these costs related to the normal policy development process. The costs were not disclosed as a constructive loss in the HMRC Annual Report and Accounts for 2020 to 2021, in line with HM Treasury guidance.