Source · Select Committees · Treasury Committee
Recommendation 14
14
We recognise that it may not have been possible for the Government to help all...
Recommendation
We recognise that it may not have been possible for the Government to help all those who have fallen through the cracks of the support schemes. However, we are disappointed that the Government has so far shown no inclination to expand or provide alternatives to the SEISS, which is providing a vital life-line to many but is not available to all those whom we believe should qualify. We recommend Economic impact of coronavirus: gaps in support and economic analysis 35 that the Government look at other models of support, including those developed by the devolved administrations with a view to extending support to people who require support and who do not currently qualify. (Paragraph 76) Economic analysis
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
Your report makes several recommendations regarding eligibility criteria for SEISS. On your recommendation that the Government look at alternative models to SEISS used by the devolved administrations, the UK Government continues to work closely with stakeholders to explore how we can support different groups and has engaged with various proposals put forward by stakeholder groups to see if any are viable. For example, the Government has looked at the Northern Ireland Directors’ support scheme, but has concluded that it is more reliant on self-certification than the SEISS, and so is likely to have higher levels of fraud and error. The practical issues that prevented the Government from being able to include Company Owner Managers in the SEISS, namely the difficulty in defining the eligible population, as well as the inability of HMRC to verify the source of their dividend income without introducing unacceptable levels of fraud risk, still remain.