Select committee: Treasury Committee
Recommendation 14
Eleventh Report - Economic impact of coronavirus: gaps in support and economic analysis
Published 15 Feb 2021
Paragraph 76
Addressed to HM Treasury
Treasury Committee Economic impact of coronavirus All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
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.
From: Treasury Committee, Eleventh Report - Economic impact of coronavirus: gaps in support and economic analysis (HC 882), paragraph 76, 15 February 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 26 April 2021 (deadline 15 April 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Treasury's response sets out the support it has provided and extended, says it has addressed the GDP commentary recommendation in the Budget, and says it cannot identify or fairly support limited company directors or change key SEISS eligibility rules.
- On the recommendation for a commentary on GDP as a measure, the Government says it "has addressed this recommendation in the Budget", which features a commentary on international comparisons of economic performance and the use of GDP as a measure.
- The Government has extended CJRS and SEISS "even further, until September", and moved the CJRS employee cut-off date to 2 March 2021 for claims starting on 1 May 2021.
- On limited company directors, the Government says the Directors Income Support Scheme proposal "is not workable in its current form" because HMRC does not hold the necessary information, and cites fraud and error risks, with a draft planning assumption that these "could be as high as 20%".
- On SEISS eligibility, the Government says the 50% self-employed income test and the £50,000 threshold are intended to target support. It does not think a taper is "proportionate", given complexity and the small number who would benefit.