Chancellor Rishi Sunak – Page 2 – The NEN

JRF: The Chancellor may say he has a plan for jobs – but he has no plan for paying the bills

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak made the keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester yesterday. On the week the Tories will cut the £20 Universal Credit lifeline, the Chancellor told the conference:

Whatever it takes.

That phrase, and those press conferences, were my introduction to so many of you as Chancellor.

It was daunting to face such a challenge in my first days in office. And what it also meant is that more than a year has gone by before I had the chance to meet you all properly. And that is why these last few days have been such a joy. Meeting you all face to face and hearing so many of you say to me “Wow, you’re even shorter in real life!”

Nothing can ever prepare you to become Chancellor, especially in recent times. There have been occasions where it really did feel that the world was collapsing. In those moments, there are certain things I fell back on. Yes, my family. Yes, my colleagues. Yes, my tremendous Treasury team.

And yes, the person who made all this possible, the person who delivered a thumping Conservative majority, my friend, our leader, the country’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

But the other thing I fell back on is something we all have in this room. Our values. Our Conservative values.

I believe in some straightforward things.

I believe that mindless ideology is dangerous. I’m a pragmatist. I care about what works, not about the purity of any dogma. I believe in fiscal responsibility. Just borrowing more money and stacking up bills for future generations to pay, is not just economically irresponsible. It’s immoral.

Because it’s not the state’s money. It’s your money.

I believe that the only sustainable route out of poverty comes from having a good job. It’s not just the pounds it puts in your pockets. It’s the sense of worth and self-confidence it gives you. So I will do whatever I can to protect people’s livelihoods, and create new opportunities too.

And when it comes to those new opportunities, I am very much a child of my time. I spent the formative years of my career working around technology companies in California. And I believe the world is at the beginning of a new age of technological progress which can transform jobs, wealth, and transformed lives.

So: pragmatism. Fiscal responsibility. A belief in work. And an unshakeable optimism about the future. This is who I am. This is what I stand for. This is what it will take. And we will do whatever it takes.

‍Our Plan is Working

And there can be no prosperous future unless it is built on the foundation of strong public finances.

And I have to be blunt with you. Our recovery comes with a cost.

Our national debt is almost 100% of GDP – so we need to fix our public finances. Because strong public finances don’t happen by accident. They are a deliberate choice. They are a legacy for future generations. And a safeguard against future threats.

I’m grateful, and we should all be grateful to my predecessors and their 10 years of sound Conservative management of our economy. They believed in fiscal responsibility. I believe in fiscal responsibility. And everyone in this hall does too.

And whilst I know tax rises are unpopular. Some will even say un-Conservative. I’ll tell you what IS un-Conservative.

Unfunded pledges.

Reckless borrowing.

And soaring debt.

Anyone who tells you that you can borrow more today, and tomorrow will simply sort itself out just doesn’t care about the future.

Yes, I want tax cuts. But in order to do that, our public finances must be put back on a sustainable footing.

Labour’s track record on the public finances speaks for itself.

Since 2010, we’ve had 5 Labour Leaders, 7 Shadow Chancellors and innumerable spending pledges. And in all that time they still haven’t got the message. The British people won’t trust a Party that isn’t serious with their money. That’s why they vote Conservative.

We must never forget that the fundamental economic differences between us and Labour run very deep.

Differences not just about debt and borrowing but about how to deal with the real pressures people face in their lives.

And right now, we are facing challenges to supply chains not just here but right around the world and we are determined to tackle them head on.

But tackling the cost of living isn’t just a political sound bite. It’s one of the central missions of this Conservative government.

Picture this: you’re a young family. You work hard, saving a bit each month. But it’s tough.

You have ambitions for your careers for your children.

You want to give them the best more than you had.

Now you tell me: Is the answer to their hopes and dreams, just to increase their benefits?

Is the answer to tell that young family the economic system is rigged against you, and the only way you stand a chance is to lean ever more on the state?

Be in no doubt, that is the essence of the Labour answer.

Not only does Labour’s approach not work in practice. It is a desperately sad vision for our future.

But there is an alternative. An approach focused on good work, better skills, and higher wages.

An approach that says: ‘Yes, we believe in you. We will help you. And you will succeed.”

And better still, it’s more than words. It’s a plan in action. A Conservative plan and Conference it is working.

We’re giving people the means and opportunities to help themselves

Governments rarely get to set the tests by which they will ultimately be judged.

And our test is jobs.

Remember, as economies around the world pulled the shutters down, forecasters were predicting unemployment to reach 12%. Millions of people were on the precipice of losing their jobs, their livelihoods, and their homes.

Well, the forecasts were wrong.

The unemployment rate is at less than 5% and falling. That’s lower than France, America, Canada, Italy, and Spain.

And we now have one of the fastest recoveries of any major economy in the world.

Now it wasn’t that the forecasters had bad models No. It’s just their models did not take account of one thing – and that was this Conservative Government. Our will to act and our plan to deliver.

An increased national living wage. The restart programme. Sector based work academies. Doubling work coaches. Job finding support. Traineeships. Apprenticeship incentives. Skills Bootcamps. And the Prime Minister’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee.

All things we are doing that won’t just help people but will give them the means and opportunities to help themselves. ‍

Our plan for the future

I believe in good work, better skills, and higher wages.

I believe that every person in this country has the potential to become something greater.

And I know that we, and only we, the Conservative party, are the ones who can make that happen.

And our economy cannot be what we need it to be without the courage, creativity and sheer force of will that each new generation brings.

Yet, at its peak just under 1 in 3 workers under 25 were on furlough. One in three.

That’s one million people who didn’t have the fall back of a career history or a network of contacts, and in many cases hadn’t even moved into their first job.

And so what did we do? We created the Kickstart scheme, up running and working in a matter of months. A landmark programme that is helping young people start exciting new careers.

And thanks to our plan, young people, just like John Chihoro who introduced me today, are starting those new jobs in their thousands.

So to give more young people the same chance as John, I can confirm we are expanding our successful Plan for Jobs into next year.

The Kickstart scheme extra support through the Youth Offer, the Job Entry Targeted Support scheme, and our Apprenticeship Incentives. All extended because we believe in the awesome power of opportunity.

And we are going to make sure that no young person in our country is left without it.

But what we do today means little if we don’t also have a plan for tomorrow.

A plan for the future.

A future economy shaped by the forces of science, technology, and imagination.

The years I spent in California left a lasting mark on me, working with some of the most innovative and exciting people in finance and technology. Watching ideas becoming a reality. Seeing entrepreneurs build new teams.

It’s not just about money.

I saw a culture, a mindset which was unafraid to challenge itself, reward hard work, and was open to all those with the talent to achieve.

The future is here

I look across the United Kingdom and that culture is here too in the young people I’ve already spoken about today, unencumbered by timidity and orthodoxy.

And it’s there in our willingness to take risks not just on companies, but on people.

People with the raw potential to create a wave of the most dynamic high growth companies. A wave that will reach the farthest corners of the world.

That optimism, that unshakeable belief that the future, can be different and better was also at the heart of Brexit.

I remember over five years ago being told that if I backed Brexit my political career would be over before it had even begun.

Well, I put my principles first. And I always will.

I was proud to back Brexit. Proud to back Leave.

And that’s because despite the challenges in the long term, I believed the agility flexibility and freedom provided by Brexit would be more valuable in a 21st century global economy than just proximity to a market.

That in the long term a renewed culture of enterprise willingness to take risks and be imaginative would inspire changes in the way we do things at home.

Brexit was never just about the things we couldn’t do. It was also about the things we didn’t do.

That’s why we introduced the super deduction, a UK first in tax policy which is triggering an explosion in capital investment.

That’s why we created the Help to Grow scheme another UK first to help small and medium sized companies digitize skill up and scale up.

That’s why we launched the Future Fund another UK first in government investment backing high potential start-ups.

My point is this: even if you can’t see it yet, I assure you, the future is here.‍

Now is the time to turn to the future

Last year alone the UK attracted more venture capital investment to our startups than France and Germany combined.

And along with enhanced infrastructure and improved skills, we are going to make this country not just a Science Superpower, not just the best place in the world to do business… I believe we’re going to make the United Kingdom the most exciting place on the planet.

Take Artificial Intelligence. Once the stuff of science fiction. Now it’s reality – and we’re a global leader.

The steam engine kicked off the industrial revolution. Computers delivered automation. The internet brought information exchange.

And as the latest general-purpose technology, AI has the potential to transform whole economies and societies.

If Artificial Intelligence were to contribute just the average productivity increase of those three technologies, that would be worth around £200 billion a year to our economy.

And so today, I am announcing that we will create 2,000 elite AI scholarships for disadvantaged young people and double the number of Turing AI World-Leading Research Fellows, helping to ensure that the most exciting industries and opportunities are open to all parts of our society.

New policy, focused on innovative technology, supporting jobs for the next generation, a sign of our ambition for the future.

Because that’s why we are here. All of us. That’s why we became members of the Conservative party.

That’s why you all give up so much of your time sacrificing things that are important to you in order to help build a better future.

You know, the longer I spend in this job, the more I realise that the worst parts of politics are driven by fear. Fear of change. Fear of losing. The fear of being wrong. Even fear of the future.

And when people get scared they create divisions. They say: “you’re either with us or you’re with them.” But you cannot make progress if you’re pitting people against each other.

That’s what you get from a tired, fearful sort of politics. We saw it last week in Brighton.

It’s not just that Labour don’t like us. They don’t even like each other.

Whereas we, the Conservatives, are now and always will be the party of business and the party of the worker.

The party of the private sector and the public sector.

A party for the old and the young.

The British people want a party that can get things done.

So, at just the moment when it feels like we’ve done enough, that we’ve gotten through, that we can take a rest, we must not stop.

Now is the time to show them that our plan will deliver.

And now is the time, at last, at long last, to finally turn to the future.

Thank you.

Responding to the Chancellor’s speech at Conservative Party Conference, Helen Barnard, Deputy Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “The Chancellor may say he has a plan for jobs but he has no plan for paying the bills.

“He spoke of doing whatever it takes to protect people’s livelihoods, yet he is cutting the incomes of around 5.5 million families by £1,040 a year on Wednesday when we are facing a cost of living crisis.

“It is completely wrong to suggest there is a trade-off between good jobs and adequate social security when they are both essential to improving people’s living standards.”

“This cut will impact many working families and inadequate social security makes it harder for people to seize opportunities whilst they struggle to stay afloat. We must ensure people who are sick, disabled or caring for others and therefore unable to work can meet their needs with dignity.

“To impose the biggest ever overnight cut to social security would be economically irresponsible which is why it is so fiercely opposed from across the political spectrum. The Government can’t credibly claim to be levelling up while levelling down people’s incomes. He must abandon this cut.”

Furlough scheme is over

“With the recovery well underway, and more than 1 million job vacancies posted, now is the right time for the scheme to draw to a close” – Chancellor Rishi Sunak

Chancellor hails Scottish workers as UK Government’s Plan for Jobs package enters the next stage
As furlough winds down flagship schemes such as the super-deduction and Kickstart scheme continue to support jobs and businesses
Rishi Sunak calls on Scottish firms to take advantage of ongoing support during a visit to a Legal and General modular homes factory and housing site in … Yorkshire!

The Chancellor will today (30^th September) praise Scottish workers’ ongoing resilience as the government moves to the next phase of its Plan for Jobs, part of a £400bn support package for the economy.

The change comes as latest figures show more employees on payrolls than before the pandemic, underlying wages increasing strongly and the OECD predicting the UK to see the fastest growth in the G7 this year and next.

Having protected over 910,000 jobs in Scotland during the toughest times of the pandemic, the furlough scheme closes today after gradually winding down as the economy began to recover. With the majority of Covid restrictions removed and the economy open again, the government is focused on investing in jobs and skills.

The UK Government’s Plan for Jobs will carry on helping to fuel the economy’s bounce-back by supporting employers across the UK to create new jobs and workers to boost their skills.

The UK Government has also provided the Scottish Government with an additional £14.5 billion in funding since the start of the pandemic.

During a visit to Legal and General’s modular factory in Yorkshire, the Chancellor will ‘double-down’ on his call for firms across the UK to make the most of billions in further support on offer, including the super-deduction – the biggest business tax break in modern British history – and the Kickstart Scheme which offers fully-funded jobs to young people.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak said: “I am immensely proud of the furlough scheme, and even more proud of the determination and resilience of Scottish workers and businesses through the pandemic. With the recovery well underway, and more than 1 million job vacancies posted, now is the right time for the scheme to draw to a close.

“But that in no way means the end of the UK Government’s support in Scotland. Our Plan for Jobs is helping people into work and making sure they have the skills needed for the jobs of the future.”

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “From day one of the pandemic, the UK Government put in place an unprecedented package of support. The strength of the UK Treasury has protected the livelihoods of nearly a million Scots, providing certainty for many during extremely difficult times.

“Thanks to the successful UK vaccine programme, businesses are trading once again, and the furlough scheme is winding up.

“Our focus now must be on recovering our economy, investing in Scotland’s communities, and getting people into work though our Plan For Jobs.”

Whilst some other countries ended their economy-wide support schemes earlier in the year, the UK’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self-employment Income Support Scheme continued into the Autumn.

Over 18 months on from its launch and with over £68 billion spent on the scheme, today marks the final day of the furlough scheme which has been instrumental in protecting workers and incomes from the worst of the crisis.

The Resolution Foundation said this week that the furlough scheme has “prevented catastrophic rises in unemployment”, and there are now almost 2 million fewer people forecast to be out of work than was feared at the height of the pandemic.

While emergency support draws to a close, the UK Government says it will continue to maximise employment across the country, create high quality, productive jobs, and deliver the skills that people, businesses and the economy need to thrive.

Today, the Chancellor will visit Legal and General’s modular homes factory and housing development in Yorkshire to see some of the Plan for Jobs in action. The super-deduction has allowed them to expand their factory capacity and has supported over 1900 across the UK, including 400 new jobs.

The Chancellor will meet employees including an employee who has secured a placement with Legal and General through the Kickstart scheme.

Health and Social Care: Johnson bites the bullet

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s statement at yesterday’s press conference on health and social care:

Good afternoon, I’m joined by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, because today we’re setting out our plan to help our NHS recover from the pandemic and build back better by fixing the problems in health and social care that governments have avoided for decades.

We all know someone whose test, scan or hip replacement was delayed or who helped to protect the NHS amid the immense pressures of Covid by putting off treatment for a new medical condition.

And now, as people come forward again, we need to pay for those missed operations and treatments; we need to pay good wages for the 50,000 extra nurses we are recruiting, we need to go beyond the record funding we’ve already provided to the NHS, and that means going further than the 48 hospitals and 50 million more GP appointments.

So today, following the most successful vaccine programme in the world, we’re beginning the biggest catch-up programme in the history of the NHS, increasing hospital capacity by 110 per cent, and enabling 9 million more appointments, scans and operations.

I have to level with people – waiting lists will get worse before they get better, but compared with before Covid, by 2024/25 our plan will allow the NHS to aim to treat 30 per cent more patients who need elective care – like knee replacements or cancer screening.

A recovery on this scale cannot be delivered by cheese-paring budgets elsewhere and it would be irresponsible to cover a permanent increase in health and social care spending with higher day to day borrowing.

For more than 70 years, we’ve lived by the principle that everyone pays for the NHS through our taxes, so it’s there for all of us when we need it.

In that spirit, from April we will have a new UK-wide 1.25 per cent Health and Social Care Levy on earned income, with the money required by law to go directly to health and social care across the whole of our United Kingdom, and with dividends rates increasing by the same amount.

This will raise almost £36 billion over the next three years, not just funding more care but better care, including better screening equipment to diagnose cancer earlier and digital technologies allowing doctors to monitor patients in their homes.

The levy will share the cost as fairly as possible between people and businesses: because we all benefit from a well-supported NHS and all businesses benefit from a healthy workforce.

And those who earn more will pay more, including those who continue to work over the State Pension Age.

The highest earning 14 per cent of the population will pay around half of the revenue raised; no-one earning less than £9,568 will pay a penny, and most small businesses will be protected, with 40 per cent paying nothing extra at all.

And this new investment will go alongside vital reform, because we learned from the pandemic that we can’t fix the NHS unless we also fix social care.

When Covid struck, there were 30,000 hospital beds in England occupied by people who would have been better cared for elsewhere, and the inevitable consequence was that patients could not get the hip operations or cancer treatment or whatever other help they needed.

And those people were often in hospital because they feared the costs of care in a residential home.

If you suffer from cancer or heart disease, the NHS will cover the costs of your treatment in full.

But if you develop Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, then you have to pay for everything above a very low threshold.

Today, 1 in 7 of us can expect to face care costs exceeding £100,000 in our later years, and millions more live in fear that they could be among that 1 in 7.

Suppose you have a house worth £250,000 and you’re in a care home for eight years, then once you’ve paid your bills, you could be left with just £14,000 after a lifetime of work, effort and saving – having sacrificed everything else – everything that you would otherwise have passed on to your children – simply to avoid the indignity of suffering.

So we are doing something that, frankly, should have been done a long time ago, and share the risk of these catastrophic care costs, so everyone is relieved of that fear of financial ruin.

We’re setting a limit to what people will ever have to pay, regardless of assets or income.

In England, from October 2023, no-one starting care will pay more than £86,000 over their lifetime.

Nobody with assets of less than £20,000 will have to pay anything at all, and anyone with assets between £20,000 and £100,000 will be eligible for means-tested support.

And we’ll also address the fear many have about how their parents or grandparents will be looked after.

We’ll invest in the quality of care, and in carers themselves, with £500 million going to hundreds of thousands of new training places, mental health support for carers and improved recruitment, making sure that caring is a properly respected profession in its own right.

And we’ll integrate health and social care in England so that all elderly and disabled people are looked after with the dignity they deserve.

No Conservative Government wants to raise taxes, but nor could we in good conscience meet the cost of this plan simply by borrowing the money and imposing the burden on future generations.

So I will be absolutely frank with you: this new levy will break our manifesto commitment, but a global pandemic wasn’t in our manifesto either, and everyone knows in their bones that after everything we’ve spent to protect people through that crisis, we cannot now shirk the challenge of putting the NHS back on its feet, which requires fixing the problem of social care, and investing the money needed.

So we will do what is right, reasonable and fair, we’ll make up the Covid backlogs, we’ll fund more nurses and, I hope, we will remove the anxiety of millions of families up and down the land by taking forward reforms that have been delayed for far too long.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s statement on health and social care, delivered on 7 September 2021

Good afternoon.

I want to address straight away the following question:

Why do we need to raise taxes?

Three reasons.

First, we need to properly fund the NHS as we recover from the pandemic.

Senior NHS leaders have made clear that without more funding we will not properly be able to address the significant backlog…

…in people’s cancelled operations, delayed treatments, or missed diagnoses.

To get everyone the care they need is going to take time – and it is going to take money.

The second reason is that social care plans announced today have created an expanded safety net.

Instead of individuals having to bear the financial risks of catastrophic care costs themselves, we as a country are deciding to share more of that risk collectively.

This is a permanent, new role for the Government.

And as such we need a permanent, new way to fund it.

The only alternative would be to borrow more indefinitely.

But that would be irresponsible at a time when our national debt is already the highest it has been in peacetime.

And it would be dishonest – borrowing more today just means higher taxes tomorrow.

The third reason we need to raise taxes is to fund the Government’s vision for the future of health and social care.

Properly funded, we can tackle not just the NHS backlog and expand the social care safety net, we can afford the nurses pay rise;

Invest in the newest, most modern equipment;

Prepare for the next pandemic;

And provide one of the largest investments ever to upskill social care workers.

In other words, we can build the modern, more efficient health and social care services the British public deserves.

To fund this vital spending, we will introduce a new UK-wide Health and Social Care Levy.

From next April, we will ask businesses, employees and the self-employed to pay an extra 1.25% on earnings.

All the money we raise will be legally ringfenced, which means every pound from the Levy will go directly to health and social care.

The Levy is the best way to raise the funds we need.

It is fair: the more you earn, the more you pay.

It is honest: it is not a stealth tax or borrowed – the Levy will be there in black and white on people’s payslips.

And it is UK-wide, so people in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will all pay the same amount.

To make sure everyone pays their fair share, we will also increase dividend tax rates by the same amount.

And, from 2023, people over the age of 66 will be asked to pay the Levy on their earnings too.

No Government wants to have to raise taxes.

But these are extraordinary times and we face extraordinary circumstances.

For more than 70 years, it has been an article of faith in this country that our national health service should be free at the point of use, funded by general taxation.

If we are serious about defending this principle in a post-Covid world …

… we have to be honest with ourselves about the costs that brings …

… and be prepared to take the difficult and responsible decisions to meet them.

Thank you.

PM Boris Johnson’s letter to the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland on the new health and social care reform:

National Insurance Contributions increase ‘adds insult to injury’ for families facing devastating cut to Universal Credit

New Joseph Rowntree Foundation analysis estimates that around 2 million families on low incomes who receive Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit will pay on average around an extra £100 per year in National Insurance contributions under the Government’s proposed changes.

Peter Matejic, Deputy Director of Evidence & Impact at JRF said: “We are concerned that around two million families on low incomes who receive Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit will pay on average around an extra £100 per year in national insurance contributions under the Government’s proposal.

“This extra cost adds insult to injury for these families who are facing a historic £1,040 cut to their annual incomes when Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit are reduced in less than a month on 6 October. If it presses ahead, this Government will be responsible for the single biggest overnight cut to social security ever.

“With inflation rising, the cost of living going up and an energy price rise coming in October, many struggling families are wondering how on earth they will be expected to make ends meet from next month.

“The Chancellor is in denial if he seriously believes this cut will not impose unnecessary hardship on millions of families – the majority of whom are in low-paid work.

“Any MP who is concerned about families on low incomes must urge the Prime Minister and Chancellor to reverse this damaging cut, which will have an immediate and devastating impact on their constituents’ living standards in just a few weeks’ time.”

RCEM welcomes Government funding, but warns it won’t be enough

Responding to the announcement of an extra £5.4 billion of funding for the NHS, Dr Katherine Henderson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “The announcement of this additional funding for the NHS over the next six months is very welcome.

“It comes at a crucial time when the health service enters what will likely be its most challenging winter ever, as it exits the pandemic, seeks to recover the elective backlog and faces the worst ever levels of performance in the summer.

“It is particularly welcome to see the investment in improving infection prevention control measures in hospitals, as this will continue to be of the utmost importance in the coming months. It is also pleasing to see funding to continue to improve the timely discharge of hospital patients. It is vital for Emergency Care that there is good flow throughout the hospital, which includes making sure patients have a smooth discharge from the hospital.

“While this short-term funding is appreciated, there must also be an adequate response to the sharp increase in demand and equivalent deterioration in performance. It is unlikely that this funding will be enough to help enable longer term recovery.

“The challenges that our Emergency Departments face stem from workforce shortages and capacity issues. A shortage of beds can lead to crowding, corridor care and poor flow through the hospital. Workforce shortages spread existing staff thinly and put them under severe pressure.

“These are long term issues and the only way to tackle them will be via a long-term funding plan for the health service, including a workforce plan to recruit nurses and doctors by expanding student medical and nursing places and training places.”

Dr Katherine Henderson, commenting on the announcement of a three-year settlement for health and social care, continued: “The three-year funding settlement announced for health and social care is welcome.

“But the scale of the challenges faced across the health and social care service at a crucial time of recovery mean this will likely not be enough – and the government must be realistic in the colossal task ahead for the health and social care service. It is essential that a plan to address the workforce crisis is prioritised.

“It is also welcome to see the long overdue the first steps towards a plan for social care. There has been a crisis within social care for some time, so it will be good to see the government fulfil its pledge to reform and tackle the social care crisis.

“For that to happen, it is vital that an adequate proportion of the settlement is allocated to social care.”

Commenting on Tuesday’s social care announcement by the Prime Minister, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “We need a social care system that delivers high-quality care and high-quality employment.

“New funding for social care is long overdue. But today’s announcement will have been deeply disappointing both to those who use care, and to those who provide it.

“The Prime Minister promised us a real plan for social care services, but what we got was vague promises of money tomorrow.

“Care workers need to see more pay in their pockets now. Nothing today delivered that. Instead, the only difference it will make to low-paid care staff is to push up their taxes.

“This is so disappointing after the dedication care workers have shown during this pandemic keeping services running and looking after our loved ones.

“Proposals to tax dividends should have been just once piece in a plan to tax wealth, not an afterthought to a plan to tax the low-paid workers who’ve got us through the pandemic.

“We know social care needs extra funding. But the prime minister is raiding the pockets of low-paid workers, while leaving the wealthy barely touched.

“We need a genuine plan that will urgently tackle the endemic low pay and job insecurity that blights the social care sector – and is causing huge staff shortages and undermining the quality of care people receive.”

The TUC published proposals on Sunday to fund social care and a pay rise for the workforce by increasing Capital Gains Tax.

The union body says increasing tax on dividends is a welcome first step to reforming the way we tax wealth, but that it won’t generate the revenue needed to deliver a social care system this country deserves.

Instead, by taxing wealth and assets at the same level as income tax, the government could raise up to £17bn a year to invest in services and give all care staff a minimum wage of £10 an hour.

TUC analysis shows that seven in 10 social care workers earn less than £10 an hour and one in four are on zero-hours contracts.

Polling published on Sunday by the TUC showed that eight in 10 working adults – including seven in 10 Conservative voters – support a £10 minimum wage for care workers.

Chancellor hails Scotland’s pivotal role in future of UK economy

The Chancellor will visit Scotland today (29 July 2021) to meet people and firms supported by the UK Government’s Plan for Jobs throughout the pandemic.
In advance of the trip, Rishi Sunak hailed the economic strength of the Union and said Scotland’s “innovation and ingenuity” would be key in powering the UK’s future global economy;
He will meet firms in sectors ranging from tech to tourism and see how Scotland is helping drive the UK’s transition to net zero ahead of the COP26 summit in Glasgow later this year.

The Chancellor has hailed the economic strength of the union ahead of a visit to Scotland where he will see first hand how the UK Government’s Plan for Jobs has supported businesses and families during the pandemic.

Rishi Sunak will meet Scottish businesses and individuals in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Fife to discuss how they are recovering from the crisis and find out more about the ways Scottish firms are creating jobs and playing a key role in the UK’s green recovery.

Ahead of the visit, he hailed the economic strength of the union and said Scotland’s “innovation and ingenuity” would be key in powering the UK’s future global economy.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak said: “We’ve come through this pandemic as one United Kingdom – with our Plan for Jobs supporting one in three jobs and tens of thousands of businesses across Scotland.

“Thanks to the strength of our Union we’ve deployed the fastest vaccination rollout in Europe and our economy is rebounding faster than expected.

“It’s vital this continues, and Scotland’s innovation and ingenuity will be key in creating jobs, powering our growth and driving a green recovery.”

Since the start of the pandemic the UK government has delivered one of the world’s most generous packages to support, create and protect jobs across the UK.

In Scotland one in three jobs have been supported through the pandemic, over 900,000 people in Scotland were furloughed, more than 90,000 businesses have received loans and £1,535 billion has been paid in self-employment support.

People in Scotland are benefitting from the UK Government’s Plan for Jobs – the Kickstart scheme is already helping thousands of 16-24-year-olds into work, Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) Scotland is providing up to six months of targeted support and 13,500 new Work Coaches have been recruited across Great Britain to give tailored support to people out of work.

On today’s visit, the Chancellor will travel to a number of businesses – both small and large – to meet business owners and furloughed employees who have returned to work after their jobs were protected through the UK-wide scheme.

With just under 100 days until the COP26 summit in Glasgow, he will also see how Scotland is harnessing the power of offshore wind, a sector which supports 2,800 jobs in Scotland and is key in helping the whole of the UK reach our climate goals.

The Chancellor will also meet representatives of Scotland’s financial services sector to thank them for keeping call centres and branches open over the pandemic as well as distributing billions of pounds through UK government loan schemes.

He will discuss his vision for the future of financial services – a sector which accounts for 153,000 jobs in Scotland (financial and professional related services).

He will also see how Scotland’s culture sector is preparing for the summer ahead, as it looks forward to welcoming back locals and tourists who wish to revel in Scotland’s rich cultural heritage.

Committees unite to call for UC uplift to be made permanent

The UK Government should make the £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit permanent, according to a joint letter issued by cross-party committees from Westminster, the Northern Irish Assembly, the Welsh Senedd and the Scottish Parliament.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak and Work Pensions Secretary, Thérèse Coffey, have confirmed that the uplift will come to an end in October.

However, if the uplift is removed, the 6 million people claiming Universal Credit will lose £1,040 in annual income overnight. According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation this could force 500,000 people, including 200,000 children, into poverty.

The letter also raises concerns that the benefit will be removed from families at the same time unemployment is due to peak as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme comes to an end.

The Committees call on the uplift to be extended to legacy benefits, to make sure those in need do not miss out.

The letter was signed by Neil Gray MSP, Convener of Holyrood’s Social Justice and Social Security Committee, Stephen Timms MP, Chair of Westminster’s Work and Pensions Select Committee, Paula Bradley MLA, Chair of Stormont’s Committee for Communities, and Jenny Rathbone MS, Chair of the Senedd’s Equality and Social Justice Committee.

Neil Gray MSP, Convener of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee, said: “The UK Government did the right thing at the start of the pandemic to increase Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit to give better support to people during these incredibly challenging times.

“But removing the uplift in October would have devastating consequences for our most vulnerable in society, who have been hit hardest by this pandemic.

“This risks sending many more people into poverty at a time when we should be doing all we can to support them.

Mr Gray added: “All four of our Committees agree that by spending this money now on social security, we can avoid putting more people into poverty, helping save more money in the longer term on health, education, justice and other social services.”

Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP, Chair of the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee, said: “To sweep away such a vital lifeline from people who have felt the very worst effects of the pandemic risks plunging hundreds of thousands of people into poverty at a time when they will have had little or no chance to get back on their feet.

“Six Conservative former welfare secretaries have warned the Chancellor of the grave consequences of his proposed course of action. The strength of feeling on all sides of the political divide, and across the UK, could not be clearer. The Government must change course.

“At the same time, the Government must also increase support for the people who, through no fault of their own, are still claiming older benefits and have received no pandemic-related increases at all – despite their living costs rising during the pandemic.”

Jenny Rathbone MS, Chair, Equality and Social Justice Committee, said:

“Whilst, in Wales, policy relating to Universal Credit and other social security benefits is reserved to Westminster, we are deeply concerned about the impact removing the uplift might have on widening social inequality in Wales; growing indebtedness as a result of the economic impact of Covid; and the ability of low income families to eat as well as pay their rent.”

Furlough extended until March

Chancellor statement to the house – Furlough extension

Statement, as delivered by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in Westminter on 5 November 2020:

Mr Speaker,

On Monday, the Prime Minister set out the action we need to take between now and the start of December to control the spread of coronavirus.

In response, we’re providing significant extra support to protect jobs and livelihoods in every region and nation of the United Kingdom:

An extension to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme;

More generous support to the self-employed and paying that support more quickly;

Cash grants of up to £3,000 per month for businesses which are closed, worth over £1 billion every month;

£1.6 billion for English councils to support their local economy and local healthcare response;

Longer to apply for our loan schemes and the Future Fund;

The chance to top-up Bounce Back Loans;

And an extension to the mortgage payment holidays.

All on top of more than £200 billion of fiscal support since March.

This statement follows the Bank of England’s monetary policy decisions earlier today, meaning all economic and monetary institutions are playing their part.

As you would expect, the Governor and I are in constant communication as the situation evolves.

Our responses are carefully designed to complement each other and provide certainty and support to people and businesses across the UK. The Bank’s forecasts this morning show economic activity is supported by our substantial fiscal and monetary policy action.

And the IMF just last week described the UK’s economic plan as “aggressive”, “unprecedented”, successful in “holding down” unemployment and business failures and “one of the best examples of coordinated action globally”.

Mr Speaker,

Our highest priority remains the same: to protect jobs and livelihoods.

That’s why we’ve already decided to extend the Job Retention Scheme to December.

But people and businesses will want to know what comes next; how long we plan to keep the scheme open, and on what terms.

They want certainty.

The government’s intention is for the new health restrictions to remain only until the start of December.

But, as we saw from the first lockdown, the economic effects are much longer lasting for businesses and areas than the duration of any restrictions.

And as the Bank of England have said this morning, “the economic recovery has slowed”, and the economic risks are “skewed to the downside”.

Given this significant uncertainty, a worsening economic backdrop, and the need to give people and businesses security through the winter, I believe it is right to go further.

So we can announce today that the furlough scheme will not be extended for one month – it will be extended until the end of March. The government will continue to help pay people’s wages, up to 80% of the normal amount.

All employers will have to pay for hours not worked is the cost of Employer NICs and pension contributions.

We’ll review the policy in January to decide whether economic circumstances are improving enough to ask employers to contribute more.

Of course, as the furlough itself is now being extended to the end of March, the original purpose of the Job Retention Bonus to incentivise employers to keep people in work until the end of January – obviously falls away.

Instead, we will redeploy a retention incentive at the appropriate time.

And for self-employed people, I can confirm the next income support grant which covers the period November to January, will now increase to 80% of average profits, up to £7,500.

Mr Speaker,

I also want to reassure the people of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The furlough scheme was designed and delivered by the Government of the United Kingdom on behalf of all the people of the United Kingdom – wherever they live.

That has been the case since March; it is the case now; and will remain the case until next March.

It is a demonstration of the strength of the Union – and an undeniable truth of this crisis – we have only been able to provide this level of economic support because we are a United Kingdom.

And I can announce today that the upfront guaranteed funding for the devolved administrations is increasing from £14 billion to £16 billion. This Treasury is, has been, and will always be, the Treasury for the whole of the United Kingdom.

Mr Speaker,

I know that people watching at home will have been frustrated by the changes the government has brought in during the past few weeks. I have had to make rapid adjustments to our economic plans as the spread of the virus has accelerated.

So I’d like to take this opportunity to explain how and why this has happened.

During the summer, as we began slowly unlocking it was our hope the country would continue to be economically open, albeit with local restrictions being put in place as and when needed.

We knew there would likely be a resurgence in the spread of the virus, but with increased NHS capacity and Test and Trace, our belief was we would be able to stay ahead of the virus.

On this basis we designed an economic approach which continued providing wage support to people, incentivised businesses to retain staff beyond the end of the furlough scheme and created new job creation and training schemes, such as Kickstart.

All built to support an economy that was broadly open but operating with restrictions and overall lower demand.

At the time this approach was not Government acting alone. Our proposals secured wide ranging support, from the TUC to the CBI.

It was their hope, as it was ours, that the public health situation would allow us to keep businesses and workplaces open.

The virus however, continued to spread. Localised restrictions were having an impact, and so we intensified this approach and added further areas.

As these restrictions intensified, the economic impact, particularly on industries such as the hospitality sector, was significant.

So in response, we altered our approach to wage support, making it much more generous to employers and in turn protecting jobs.

We also introduced a range of grants to businesses, whether open or closed, to help them meet their fixed costs.

And additional funding for local authorities to respond to specific local economic challenges.

But again, the virus continued to spread, but more quickly.

And so we arrive at last week, when the government’s scientific and medical advisers presented data which showed that R is greater than 1 in all parts of the UK, that the NHS was at risk of being overwhelmed in a matter of weeks and the likely resultant loss of life that would accompany such an event.

The only viable solution left to protect our NHS was the re-imposition of temporary significant enhanced restrictions in England, in addition to those in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

And so, given these changed public health restrictions and the economic trauma they would cause in job losses and business closures I felt it best to extend the furlough scheme, rather than transition at that precise moment to the new Job Support Scheme.

Now political opponents have chosen to attack the government for trying to keep the economy functioning and to make sure the support we provide encourages people to keep working.

And they will now, no doubt, criticise the government on the basis we have had to change our approach.

But to anyone in the real world, that’s just the thing that you have to do when circumstances change.

We all hope for the best, but make sure we plan for any eventuality.

We can reintroduce the furlough now only because we kept the system on which it is based operational, because there was always the possibility that we would be back in this situation.

I’ll leave it to the people of this country to decide whether they believe the Government is trying its best to support people through an unprecedented crisis.

To decide whether it is a good or bad thing to alter our economic plans as the health restrictions we face change.

What I know is that the support we are providing will protect millions of jobs.

What I know is that it is never wrong to convey confidence in this country and our economy through our words and action.

And what I know is today’s announcement will give people and businesses up and down our country immense comfort over what will be a difficult winter.

And I commend this Statement to the House.

PM Boris Johnson later gave a statement at the coronavirus press conference:

Good evening everyone,

Across the whole United Kingdom, people are engaged in a huge joint effort to put the coronavirus back in its box. Throughout the pandemic, this government has done whatever it takes to protect lives and livelihoods – in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

We have put in place an unprecedented package of economic support, protecting the wages and jobs of millions of people.

We have built the largest testing capacity in Europe, with 32 million tests conducted so far and over half a million tests now available every day across the UK.

We have ensured that, as we head into winter, the NHS has at its disposal over 30,000 ventilators and billions of items of Personal Protective Equipment, most of it now manufactured here in the UK.

Across the whole of the UK, we have a shared goal – to suppress the virus, ensure the NHS is not overwhelmed, and in doing so to save lives.

The UK Government and the devolved administrations are working together on a joint approach to the Christmas period, because all of us want to ensure families can come together wherever they live.

The challenges we face are significant across the U.K.

The average number of new cases each day is now 22,398, that’s up from 9,716 a month earlier.

There are now 12,320 patients in hospital, up from 2,602 a month earlier.

1,142 patients are now in mechanical ventilation beds, up from 369 a month earlier.

Sadly 492 deaths were reported yesterday. The weekly average number of deaths each day is now 295, up from 53 a month earlier.

That’s why new restrictions are in place in each part of the UK.

In England, from today, we are once again asking you to stay at home.

As I explained on Saturday you can only leave home for specific reasons: for work if you can’t work from home, for education, and for essential activities and emergencies.

The full rules, all of the details, are available at gov.uk/coronavirus and on the NHS Covid-19 app – please log on to see what you can and can’t do.

I know how tough this is:

For staff in the NHS and care homes, who are facing a tough winter on the frontline.

For families, who can’t meet in the way they would want to.

For businesses, forced to shut just as you are getting back on their feet.

I know many of you are anxious, weary and quite frankly fed up with the very mention of this virus

But I want to assure you this is not a repeat of the spring.

Schools, universities and nurseries are all staying open.

And these measures though they are tough are time-limited.

The advice I have received suggests that four weeks is enough for these measures to make a real impact.

So these rules will expire, and on 2 December we plan to move back to a tiered approach.

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

We have better treatments and techniques to take care of those in hospital, thanks largely to the ingenuity of British scientists.

Rapid testing is being rolled out on a massive scale – with city-wide testing starting tomorrow in Liverpool.

I am hugely grateful to the people of Liverpool for their participation in this pilot. I hope that by working together, we can get that great city on top of the virus.

More broadly, there is also the very real chance of safe and effective vaccines.

So taking those things together, these scientific advances can show us the way ahead.

And in the meantime, the government will continue to support people affected by these new restrictions.

As you know, we have protected almost 10 million jobs through furlough, and as the Chancellor announced earlier today, we are now extending the scheme through to March.

We are also extending our support for the self-employed, so that the next payment increases to 80 per cent of average profits.

We’re providing cash grants for businesses who are closed, worth more than £1 billion every month.

We are giving £1.1 billion to Local Authorities in England to support businesses.

And a further £2 billion of funding is guaranteed for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

As we face these challenges together, we must look after those in most need.

As of September we have helped over 29,000 rough sleepers off the streets, two thirds of whom are now in settled accommodation.

Today we’re announcing a further £15 million to help councils offer safe accommodation for people who are sleeping rough or at risk of becoming homeless. This programme will help areas that need additional support most during the restrictions and throughout the winter.

These are difficult times.

And while it pains me to have to ask once again for so many to give up so much, I know that, together, we can get through this.

So please, for the next four weeks, stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.

Chancellor announces new Jobs Support Scheme

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has outlined his Winter Economy Plan at Westminster

Mr Speaker, Thank you for granting me permission to make this Statement to the House today.

Earlier this week the Prime Minister set out the next stage of the government’s health response to Coronavirus.

Today I want to explain the next phase of our planned economic response.

The House will be reassured to know I have been developing plans to protect jobs and the economy over the winter period.

Plans that seek to strike the finely-judged balance between managing the virus and protecting the jobs and livelihoods of millions. Mr Speaker,

I know people are anxious, and afraid, and exhausted, at the prospect of further restrictions on our economic and social freedoms.

I share those feelings, but there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic.

We are in a fundamentally different position than we were in March.

And we now know much more about this virus.

Public awareness of the risks, and how to mitigate them, is far greater.

And we have met our promise to give the NHS whatever it needs, with significant new funding for NHS capacity, for PPE, and, I can inform the House today, we have now provided over £12 billion for test and trace.

In economic terms, while our output remains well below where it was in February, we have seen three consecutive months of growth.

And millions of people have moved off the furlough and back to work.

But the resurgence of the virus, and the measures we need to take in response, pose a threat to this fragile economic recovery.

So our task now is to move to the next stage of our economic plan, nurturing the recovery by protecting jobs through the difficult winter months.

Mr Speaker, The underlying rationale for the next phase of economic support must be different to what came before.

The primary goal of our economic policy remains unchanged: to support people’s jobs.

But the way we achieve that must evolve.

Back in March, we hoped we were facing a temporary period of disruption.

In response, we provided one of the most generous and comprehensive economic plans anywhere in the world with £190 billion of support for people, businesses and public services, as we protected our economic capacity.

It is now clear, as the Prime Minister and our scientific advisers have said, for at least the next six months the virus and restrictions are going to be a fact of our lives.

Our economy is now likely to undergo a more permanent adjustment.

The sources of our economic growth and the kinds of jobs we create, will adapt and evolve to the new normal. And our plan needs to adapt and evolve in response.

Above all, we need to face up to the trade-offs and hard choices Coronavirus presents. And, Mr Speaker, there has been no harder choice than the decision to end the furlough scheme.

The furlough was the right policy at the time we introduced it.

It provided immediate, short-term protection for millions of jobs through a period of acute crisis.

But as the economy reopens it is fundamentally wrong to hold people in jobs that only exist inside the furlough.

We need to create new opportunities and allow the economy to move forward and that means supporting people to be in viable jobs which provide genuine security.

As I’ve said throughout this crisis, I cannot save every business. I cannot save every job. No Chancellor could.

But what we can and must do is deal with the real problems businesses and employees are facing now.

In March, the problem was that we ordered businesses to close.

In response, we paid people to stay at home and not work.

Today, the problem is different.

Many businesses are operating safely and viably, but they now face uncertainty and reduced demand over the winter months.

What those businesses need is support to bring people back to work and protect as many viable jobs as we can.

To do that, I am announcing today the new Jobs Support Scheme.

The government will directly support the wages of people in work giving businesses who face depressed demand the option of keeping employees in a job on shorter hours rather than making them redundant.

The Jobs Support Scheme is built on three principles.

First, it will support viable jobs.

To make sure of that, employees must work at least a third of their normal hours and be paid for that work, as normal, by their employer.

The government, together with employers, will then increase those people’s wages covering two-thirds of the pay they have lost by reducing their working hours.

And the employee will keep their job.

Second, we will target support at firms who need it the most.

All small and medium sized businesses are eligible.

But larger businesses, only when their turnover has fallen through the crisis.

Third, it will be open to employers across the United Kingdom, even if they have not previously used the furlough scheme.

The scheme will run for six months starting in November.

And employers retaining furloughed staff on shorter hours can claim both the Jobs Support Scheme and the Jobs Retention Bonus.

Mr Speaker,

Throughout this crisis, we have sought parity between employees and the self-employed providing more than £13 billion of support to over 2.6 million self-employed small businesses.

So I am extending the existing self-employed grant on similar terms and conditions as the new Jobs Support Scheme …

Mr Speaker,

These are radical interventions in the UK labour market; policies we have never tried in this country before.

Together with the Jobs Retention Bonus, the Kickstart scheme for young people, tens of billions of pounds of job creation schemes, new investment in training and apprenticeships, we are protecting millions of jobs and businesses.

Mr Speaker, If we want to protect jobs this winter, the second major challenge is helping businesses with cash flow.

Over the last six months, we’ve supported business with tens of billions of pounds of tax deferrals and generous, government-backed loans.

Those policies have been a lifeline.

But right now, businesses need every extra pound to protect jobs rather than repaying loans and tax deferrals.

So I’m taking four further steps today to make that happen.

First, Bounce Back Loans have given over a million small businesses a £38 billion boost to survive this pandemic. To give those businesses more time and greater flexibility to repay their loans, we are introducing Pay As You Grow.

This means:

loans can now be extended from six to ten years – nearly halving the average monthly repayment
businesses who are struggling can now choose to make interest-only payments
and, anyone in real trouble can apply to suspend repayments altogether for up to six months

No business taking up Pay As You Grow will see their credit rating affected as a result.

Second, I am also changing the terms of our other loan schemes.

More than 60,000 Small and Medium sized businesses have now taken out Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans.

To help them, I plan to extend the government guarantee on these loans for up to ten years, making it easier for lenders to give people more time to repay.

I am also extending the deadline of all our loan schemes to the end of the year. And we are starting work on a new, successor loan programme, set to begin in January.

Third, I want to give businesses more time and flexibility over their deferred tax bills.

Nearly half a million businesses deferred more than £30 billion of VAT this year.

On current plans, those payments fall due in March.

Instead, I will allow businesses to spread that VAT bill over 11 smaller repayments, with no interest to pay.

And any of the millions of self-assessed income taxpayers who need extra help, can also now extend their outstanding tax bill over 12 months from next January.

The final step I’m taking today will support two of the most affected sectors: hospitality and tourism.

On current plans, their VAT rates will increase from 5% back to the standard rate of 20% on January the 13th.

So to support more than 150,000 businesses and help protect 2.4 million jobs through the winter I am announcing today that we are cancelling the planned increase and will keep the lower 5% VAT rate until March 31st next year.

Mr Speaker, Today’s measures mark an important evolution in our approach.

Our lives can no longer be put on hold.

Since May, we have taken steps to liberate our economy and society.

We did these things because life means more than simply existing.

We find meaning and hope through our friends and family, through our work, through our community.

People were not wrong for wanting that meaning, for striving towards normality, and nor was the government wrong to want this for them.

I said in the summer that we must endure and live with the uncertainty of the moment.

This means learning our new limits as we go.

Because the truth is the responsibility for defeating Coronavirus cannot be held by government alone.

It is a collective responsibility, shared by all.

Because the cost is paid by all.

We have so often spoken about this virus in terms of lives lost.

But the price our country is paying is wider than that.

The government has done much to mitigate the effects of the awful trade-offs between health, education and employment.

And as we think about the next few weeks and months, we need to bear all of those costs in mind.

As such, it would be dishonest to say there is now some risk-free solution.

Or that we can mandate behaviour to such an extent we lose any sense of personal responsibility.

What was true at the beginning of this crisis remains true now.

It’s on all of us.

And we must learn to live with it and live without fear.

I commend this Statement to the House.

Help for the self-employed … but not until June

Chancellor Rishi Sunak made his long-awaited statement on support for the UK’s five million self-employed workers yesterday. That support will not kick in until June at the earliest, however, and does not cover those workers who have been self-employed for less than three years.

This is what he said:

Good afternoon.

Today I can announce the next step in the economic fight against the Coronavirus pandemic, with new support for the self-employed.

Our step-by-step action plan is aiming to slow the spread of Coronavirus so fewer people need hospital treatment at any one time, protecting the NHS’s ability to cope.

At every point, we have followed expert advice to be controlled in our actions – taking the right measures at the right times.

We are taking unprecedented action to increase NHS capacity by increasing the numbers of beds, key staff and life-saving equipment on the front-line to give people the care they need.

That is why it is absolutely critical that people follow our instructions to stay at home, so we can protect our NHS and save lives.

Our action plan to beat the pandemic is the right thing to do – but we know people are worrying about their jobs and their incomes.

Working closely with businesses and trade unions, we have put together a coherent, coordinated and comprehensive economic plan – a plan which is already starting to make a difference:

big employers like Brewdog, Timpsons and Pret have already said that our Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme means they can furlough thousands of staff, rather than laying them off. And we are publishing this evening detailed guidance on how the scheme will operate so that other businesses can take advantage, too
small businesses are already benefiting from Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans of up to £5 million, which are interest free for 12 months – with 30,000 enquiries in just four days
local authorities are already informing more than 700,000 retail, hospitality and leisure businesses that they will pay no business rates this year
and the new hardship grants scheme, providing cash grants of up to £25,000 for the smallest businesses, is now up and running

So if any business is struggling, and worrying they may need to lose staff, I would urge you to log on to businesssupport.gov.uk, and look very carefully at what support is available before deciding to lay people off.

I’m proud of what we’ve done so far, but I know that many self-employed people are deeply anxious about the support available for them.

Musicians and sound engineers; plumbers and electricians; taxi drivers and driving instructors; hairdressers and childminders and many others, through no fault of their own, risk losing their livelihoods.

To you, I say this: You have not been forgotten. We will not let you behind. We are all in this together.

So, to support those who work for themselves, today I am announcing a new Self-Employed Income Support Scheme.

The government will pay self-employed people, who have been adversely affected by the Coronavirus, a taxable grant worth 80% of their average monthly profits over the last three years, up to £2,500 a month.

This scheme will be open for at least three months – and I will extend it for longer if necessary.

You’ll be able to claim these grants and continue to do business.

And we’re covering the same amount of income for a self-employed person as we are for furloughed employees, who also receive a grant worth 80%.

That’s unlike almost any other country and makes our scheme one of the most generous in the world.

Providing such unprecedented support for self-employed people has been difficult to do in practice.

And the self-employed are a diverse population, with some people earning significant profits.

So I’ve taken steps to make this scheme deliverable, and fair:

to make sure that the scheme provides targeted support for those most in need, it will be open to anyone with income up to £50,000.
to make sure only the genuinely self-employed benefit, it will be available to people who make the majority of their income from self-employment
and to minimise fraud, only those who are already in self-employment, who have a tax return for 2019, will be able to apply

95% of people who are majority self-employed will benefit from this scheme.

HMRC are working on this urgently and expect people to be able to access the scheme no later than the beginning of June.

If you’re eligible, HMRC will contact you directly, ask you to fill out a simple online form, then pay the grant straight into your bank account.

And to make sure no one who needs it misses out on support, we have decided to allow anyone who missed the filing deadline in January, four weeks from today to submit their tax return.

But I know many self-employed people are struggling right now, so we’ve made sure that support is available.

Self-employed people can access the business interruption loans.

Self-assessment income tax payments, that were due in July, can be deferred to the end of January next year.

And we’ve also changed the welfare system so that self-employed people can now access Universal Credit in full.

A self-employed person with a non-working partner and two children, living in the social rented sector, can receive welfare support of up to £1,800 per month.

The scheme I have announced today is fair.

It is targeted at those who need it the most.

Crucially, it is deliverable.

And it provides an unprecedented level of support for self-employed people.

As we’ve developed the scheme, I’m grateful for the conversations I’ve had with the Federation of Small Businesses, the association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed, and a range of trade unions, including the Trades Union Congress.

But I must be honest and point out that in devising this scheme – in response to many calls for support – it is now much harder to justify the inconsistent contributions between people of different employment statuses.

If we all want to benefit equally from state support, we must all pay in equally in future.

These last ten days have shaken our country and economy as never before.

In the last two weeks we have put aside ideology and orthodoxy to mobilise the full power and resources of the British state.

We have done so in pursuit of a single goal: to protect people’s health and economic security, by supporting public services like our NHS, backing business, and protecting people’s jobs and incomes.

What we have done will, I believe, stand as one of the most significant economic interventions at any point in the history of the British state, and by any government, anywhere in the world. We have:

pledged that whatever resources the NHS needs, it will get
promised to pay 80% of the wages of furloughed workers for three months up to £2,500
deferred more than £30 billion of tax payments until the end of the year
agreed nearly 17,000 Time to Pay arrangements for businesses and individuals
made available £330 billion of loans and guarantees
introduced cash grants of up to £25,000 for small business properties
covered the cost of statutory sick pay for small businesses for up to two weeks
lifted the incomes of over four million households with a nearly £7 billion boost to the welfare system
agreed three-month mortgage holidays with lenders and nearly £1 billion more support for renters through the Local Housing Allowance
and today we’ve announced one of the most generous self-employed support schemes in the world

Despite these extraordinary steps, there will be challenging times ahead. We will not be able to protect every single job or save every single business.

But I am confident that the measures we have put in place will support millions of people, businesses and self-employed people to get through this, get through it together, and emerge on the other side both stronger and more united.

Thank you.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) – who spearheaded calls for additional help for those that work for themselves – warmly welcomed the proposals.

Andrew McRae, FSB’s Scotland policy chair, said: “Thousands of people who work for themselves in Scotland will now breathe a sigh of relief. This scheme will provide lifeline cash to self-employed people, with help targeted at those on low and moderate incomes.

“We need to vanquish the myth that those that work for themselves are universally wealthy. People like the local handyman, cleaner and fitness coach will benefit from this support.

“Like many of these government interventions, it will take a number of weeks for this programme to deliver. Therefore, those who qualify should try their banks for interim finance if required, while doing what they can to manage their outgoings. This will be much easier said than done, but with help on its way many of the self-employed will rest a little easier.”

Official figures show that there are 320,000+ self-employed people in Scotland.

Andrew McRae said: “Throughout this crisis, we’ve found Ministers in Edinburgh and London sympathetic and approachable. These governments deserve credit for delivering support to business who face difficult circumstances that are neither under their control nor their fault.”

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “With so many of the self-employed facing a collapse in their earnings the Chancellor is right to act.

“This is a welcome step forward for self-employed and freelance workers across the economy, from construction to the creative industries.

“It’s vital that support reaches workers as soon as possible. Many are already dealing with severe hardship.

“Unions look forward to being consulted on how this scheme is rolled out.”