Having grown up in a farming family, worked in the past for the NFU, been the UK’s first ever Minister for Life Sciences and played a key role in the UK’s first ever Agri-Tech Industrial Strategy, I completely understand how vitally important Food Hygiene and Farming Welfare Standards are to this country.
That’s why I have:
- Always campaigned hard as part of my long-standing commitment to these crucial sectors in our Norfolk, and national, economy.
- Led policy work as a backbencher and in my various Government roles – and welcomed the Government’s Manifesto Pledge to protect our high food hygiene and farming welfare standards going forward.
- Spoken with Ministers and officials four times in the last month alone to seek reassurances and insist on these proper protections being in the new Agriculture Bill and in any future free trade deals.
- Abstained from voting on Clause 2 of the Agriculture Bill to signal strongly to the Government that I was not prepared to back them unless those reassurances and protections were in writing.
- Tweeted regularly and highlighted in the Press the need to protect and strengthen our food hygiene and farming welfare values and standards, and use these free trade negotiations to raise standards abroad.
I am 100% opposed to selling out UK farming and food producers on the altar of cheap food from producers of low value and low welfare products around the world.
Rest assured, I shall continue lobbying Government hard on this issue.
To learn more, please visit my web-story on the recent Agriculture Bill here and my Twitter here
As a long-time advocate of the move towards renewable energy, I am a major supporter of Offshore Wind Energy – and have previously worked with local communities to ensure that the associated onshore infrastructure is located in the right place.
As the Southern North Sea becomes the world’s largest centre for offshore wind infrastructure however, East Anglia is in danger of being ruined by the dozens of Wembley-sized substations and thousands of miles of underground cabling required to connect these new wind farms to our National Grid.
That’s why I have been leading the charge in Norfolk and in Westminster – calling for a proper strategic Plan to deliver this vital infrastructure. I (along with my parliamentary colleagues here in the East) want to see these new wind farms delivered in a way that doesn’t unnecessarily damage our rural and coastal landscapes, as well as negatively impact on local tourism, business and residents.
As part of my ongoing campaign, myself, Duncan Baker and Jerome Mayhew participated in a Zoom Call with the Energy Minister, the Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, to make the case for a full Review of the options to deliver this key infrastructure – reiterating our belief that an Offshore Ring Main is the best one.
I am delighted to report that Kwasi Kwarteng sympathised enormously with us and has agreed to get OFGEM to carry out a feasibility study to look at the ORM option. This is hugely positive news – and a great step forward.
It comes on the same day that the Secretary of State at BEIS, the Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, agreed to postpone his decision on the Norfolk Vanguard and Hornsea Project Three Offshore Wind Farm applications for another month – responding to calls from MPs like myself and countless others across the East. (And follows his decision to postpone a decision on the Norfolk Boreas application until October).
Rest assured, I will continue to follow this matter closely. Next stop – OFGEM. Duncan, Jerome and I will take our campaign to them and ensure the feasibility is carried out as swiftly and thoroughly as possible.
To learn more about this campaign, please click here.
To read the EDP article, please click here.
Every week, a farmer dies by suicide.
There’s a tsunami of anxiety in the rural industries – a vital component of our wider Norfolk and Eastern economies.
That’s why I was delighted to participate in the ‘Exploring Mental Health in Agriculture’ webinar (organised by Archant and Lloyds Banking Group) on Friday to help shine a light on this hugely important issue and discuss what more can be done to provide support.
Every death by suicide is one too many. And there are so many more suffering in silence.
Rest assured, I shall continue to follow this issue closely – and I look forward to seeing Archant and Lloyds Banking Group’s joint campaign going from strength to strength.
To catch up on the webinar, you can see it here:
The Agriculture Bill and the matter of food standards in this country are two vitally important issues for our area.
That’s why, having had a number of recent meetings and conversations with Ministers to seek reassurances and insist on protections for our high food hygiene welfare standards, I abstained from voting on Clause 2 of the Agriculture Bill to signal that I was not prepared to support the Government on the Bill without the reassurances in writing.
I support free trade and am pleased to see the UK signing trade deals with new countries, but we do also need to make sure we:
1. Secure a trade deal with the EU to ensure continuity of trade and business for UK companies and consumers;
2. Maintain our food, farming and consumer production and import standards;
3. Achieve much better labelling so that all consumers can see the country of origin and standards of production for every product at the point of purchase.
I am 100% opposed to selling out UK farming and food producers on the altar of cheap food from producers of low value and low welfare products around the world.
One of the many lessons and legacies from Covid should be the security of our core supply chains – and the risks to public health from other countries, like China, with dirty “wet markets”.
The post-Covid recovery is no time to abandon our domestic food and farming sector – which is of course especially important to the Mid Norfolk economy.
Rest assured, I will always go on fighting the corner of our local farmers and farming industry – and I will always feed in the views of my constituents on this to the Secretary of State and his Ministers.
Delivering Net Zero: Bright Blue and WSP - My Contribution on Transport Decarbonisation
Who wants to go back to the daily madness of congestion, pollution & unhealthy commuting?
Imagine a Transport Strategy based on: ActiveTravel, CleanAir, ConnectedPlaces, and SmartBuses.
Check out my essay as part of the Bright Blue “Delivering Net Zero” Book.
Bright Blue and WSP: Net zero more urgent than ever for government and business
Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, and WSP, the leading engineering professional services firm, have today published a major essay collection, Delivering Net Zero, which outlines radical new ideas for how the UK can deliver on its net zero commitment by 2050, with contributions from nearly 40 leading chief executives, politicians, academics and thought leaders from across the private, public and third sectors.
The essay collection from Bright Blue and WSP argues that delivering net zero is both an environmental necessity and an economic opportunity. It rejects the argument that the transition to net zero requires vast amounts of government spending and intervention, highlighting instead the progress that has been made on decarbonisation to date, and could further be made in the future, through well-regulated markets with sensible incentives from government.
The essay collection offers analysis and ideas across nine key areas: transport; land; utilities; buildings; industry; waste; finance; government; and, innovation. The publication provides inspiration to politicians, policymakers, and practitioners in advance of the Conference of the Parties (COP) 26 in Summer 2021 to implement innovative programmes and policies to ensure the UK’s market-based economy can meet its net-zero commitments.
Bright Blue and WSP believe that COVID-19 has strengthened the case for action on the challenge of this century – climate change. Governments, businesses and communities need and will be expected to do more to mitigate and build resilience to disruptive crises, such as global warming and extreme weather events.
The collection includes contributions from Nigel Wilson (Chief Executive, Legal & General Group), John Holland-Kaye (Chief Executive, Heathrow Airport Ltd), Peter Jelkeby (Chief Executive, IKEA UK & Ireland), Tony Juniper CBE (Chair, Natural England), Christine McGourty (Chief Executive, Water UK), Richard Walker (Managing Director, Iceland Foods), Nicholas Boys Smith (Co-Chair, Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission), Graham Stuart MP (Minister for International Trade), George Freeman MP (Former Minister for Transport), Ben Houchen (Mayor, Tees Valley), Professor Michael Grubb (Professor of Energy and Climate Change, University College London), Barny Evans (Sustainable Places Director, WSP), and many more.
My Essay Below:
Driving green growth
Transport decarbonisation
George Freeman MP
The COVID-19 pandemic – and the state of emergency it has triggered across the world – is an urgent wake-up call to the implications of economic globalisation. When the immediate pandemic is through, we will need to have a serious conversation about the implications COVID-19 has had on international and national resilience of our increasingly global economy. That shouldn’t stop at the global supply chain for personal protective equipment (PPE) or the impact of Chinese dietary customs on global biosecurity. The crisis of COVID-19 shines a fresh and alarming spotlight on the other major issue of global resilience: the risk of climate change.
As we face the immediate threat of large-scale death, disease, economic damage and societal disruption, the issue of climate change might seem irrelevant. Indeed, the combination of empty streets, clean air, satellite images of vanishing smog and the urgent need to restore global economic growth is already leading some to dismiss the green agenda as a luxurious indulgence we can ill afford. They are profoundly wrong.
We would be wiser to treat the COVID-19 crisis as a warning of what happens when we take resilience for granted. If we want to prevent the disastrous rise in global temperature which scientists are telling us unambiguously is coming unless we take action, we need to make the post-COVID-19 recovery a moment to seriously embrace the economics of resilience at the heart of our economic system. And, specifically, to make the post-COVID-19 recovery one that is based on clean, smart, sustainable and resilient green growth.
Central to this is the key policy question of how to deliver on our net zero commitments in a way which accelerates economic growth and job creation in new sectors whilst contributing to a healthier and more productive economy and society.
If – as I have argued elsewhere – the Brexit vote was a change moment requiring us to revisit our economic model as an increasingly finance and service-orientated economy serving the European bloc to embrace a more global trade-based economic model, then questions of biosecurity, resilience and sustainability become more important. In a world where low-cost Chinese and Asian developing economies take the lion’s share of mass manufacturing, the UK will need to build a strong global franchise based on our strengths in key sectors such as life science, agritech and cleantech: the technologies and innovations which will support sustainable economic growth. In the next 30 years, when the world goes through the agricultural and industrial revolutions we pioneered here in the UK over the last 300 years, it will need a host of new technologies to drive sustainable growth.
“The market for clean growth – whether technology, consulting or legal – is already huge and only set to get bigger”
On net zero, the key question is all about delivery. The UK has already accepted the case for action and for leadership. We have made the net zero targets legally binding. All our attention must look at how we convert that national and global goodwill into concrete action.
We have a basic choice ahead of us. Do we follow or do we lead? Following would mean doing just enough to stay out of trouble and hide in the pack. Leading means gripping this crisis and showing the world how to reach that net zero future. As an MP and citizen, I strongly believe it has to be the latter. Not just because of our global responsibility, but also because it’s good business.
“We would be wiser to treat the COVID-19 crisis as a warning of what happens when we take resilience for granted”
This has been the central theme of my career in both industry and politics since leaving Cambridge 35 years ago. Through a fifteen-year career in high growth technology, company venture capital and ten years in frontline politics – from being Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) at the Department of Energy and Climate Change in 2010, Chair of the All Party Group on Agricultural Science and Technology and Inclusive Growth, through to Minister for Life Science and Agritech, UK Trade Envoy, Chair of the Prime Minister’s Policy Board and most recently the UK’s first-ever Minister for the Future of Transport, leading our ‘Transport Decarbonisation Strategy’ – I know first-hand that we have a unique opportunity in the UK. No market is likely to be bigger than the market for clean energy alternatives to dirty, expensive and unsustainable fossil fuels.
As we leave the EU Single Market to become a more globally oriented trading economy, we need new markets we can plug into. The market for clean growth – whether technology, consulting or legal – is already huge and only set to get bigger.
If we use our net zero targets as the spur to a national economic mission to lead the world, we can lay the foundations for major new markets. Brexiteers need precisely this sort of opportunity. They should be grabbing it. There are huge opportunities for so-called ‘left-behind’ places like Teesside, parts of Northern Ireland and Humberside to become vibrant ‘New Energy Hubs’.
In decarbonisation there is a significant opportunity for the UK to help lead in the science and technology of clean growth. And after the successful decarbonising of our energy sector in the last decade, nowhere is this now more urgent than in transport. Alongside agriculture and housing, transport is the biggest emitting sector, responsible for 28% of our CO2 emissions.1
That’s why I was so delighted when the Prime Minister asked me to go to the Department for Transport to frame a 21st century ‘Transport Decarbonisation Strategy’ – which I’m delighted the Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps MP, rightly launched in March rather than delay as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
By embracing that strategy – and delivering it through a combination of metrics, digitalisation and place – I believe we now have the chance to lead the world. It is time to make our commitments a reality.
The UK ‘Transport Decarbonisation Strategy’ needs at its heart two key elements. First, a proper industrial strategy for UK leadership in the R&D, financing, testing, data collection and enlightened regulation of transport technology and innovation in the pipeline.
Second, a place-based strategy for empowering people and places around the country to embrace cleaner, greener, healthier transport choices.
For too long the UK political and policy debate has been conducted in silos. One group of activists making a passionate case for lower, slower growth and more tax and regulation to tackle polluters. And the other group making a lazily optimistic and complacent economic argument
– largely by entrenched interests who have much to lose from the disruptive effects of new entrants – that we can stand back and allow the market to adapt on its own to consumer demand.
We need to break the stale debate and silo’d ‘capture’ of the climate change debate and embrace a much more responsible and business-like mission to both drive growth and sustainability.
In the UK, I believe that means embracing both an active ‘Industrial Strategy for Technology Leadership’, but also a bold programme of devolution and freedom for local places to embrace the healthier travel options most households and neighbourhoods want.
If we do both, we have a chance of achieving the goal. One without the other – an industrial strategy without city and place-based leadership, or the reverse – will simply not work. It needs both to stand a chance of succeeding.
But how do we then deliver? What are the levers we can pull to make this happen? I believe there are three delivery mechanisms. First, place. Second, metrics. Third, digitalisation.
The importance of place needs to be put at the heart of UK transport policy. The modal structure of the Department for Transport (DfT) – four divisions by transport mode (aviation, maritime, road and rail) – reflects a longstanding and disastrous separation of transport policymaking from the needs of places. Fundamentally, transport is all about connectivity of places. The main aim of all those using transport is about getting from A to B. Bad transport holds back people and places. People who use public transport care more about their local transport than national. But in the UK we develop policy – and delivery – through an overly centralised and silo’d model of modal separation.
This heavy traditional Whitehall functional model of departmental modal silos – road, rail, shipping and aviation – mitigates against both place-based solutions, local leadership and the uptake of innovation through Testbeds.
Highways England and Network Rail are largely place-blind. Their focus is on big national “schemes”. As national quangos they are accountable to civil servants in DfT silos, not the communities who are paying for and actually need the transport. But DfT is massively London-focused. The staffing ratio tells its own story: thousands of civil servants in the capital, and how may in the West Midlands? One.
This is a massive problem for delivering more enlightened and innovative transport systems, and the decarbonisation which will fail without it. We will not deliver decarbonisation unless we make the UK a more attractive testbed for 21st century transport and mobility innovation.
To do that we must liberate and harness people’s willingness to do things for their own places more than for the government, and allow local leaders to try new approaches. We need to change the planning and development paradigm away from car dependency, and car and home ownership, and insist on much more joined-up place-based transport tech planning. We must break down the national stats and targets into smaller local regional bite sizes, including highlighting the best and spotlighting the worst practice. Finally, we must identify the key people and places where we need to deliver, as well as the ten dirtiest stations, motorways, ports, airports, and make people much more accountable.
The second key decarbonisation delivery pillar is metrics. Successful delivery against targets requires proper data and metrics. We will never deliver decarbonisation without clear metrics and data for place-based carrot and stick at both a government and personal level. We need clear rewards and penalties.
“We need to break the stale debate and silo’d ‘capture’ of the climate change debate and embrace a much more responsible and business-like mission to both drive growth and sustainability”
As we have seen in healthcare, clear and trusted data has enormous power to drive changes in behaviour. Think of such simple yet life- changing innovations such as heartrate monitors and calorie counting. The transport decarbonisation agenda lacks any clear universal metrics or data. We need a global, universally respected metric. The UK has a huge opportunity to develop this metric and then lead the global sector of developing standards around it. A simple metric like ‘emissions per passenger kilometre’ (EPPK) would be completely transformational.
By incorporating it into all modes and places as the metric, we could start to compare and drive progress and change. For example, it could be built into the local government funding settlement to create an incentive for councils to build more energy efficient homes. The third pillar is the power of digitalisation. Harnessing the power of digital is as important as – and goes hand in hand with – data and metrics. It is vital at all levels.
At a national level, digital signalling on the railways and digital road pricing and traffic management are all key to improving capacity and reducing emissions. At a regional and city level, clear data on the daily congestion and pollution patterns is key to managing the decrease of both. At a personal level, too, all the behavioural insights show people are much more likely to change habits when they can see the benefit. The more bespoke and real it can be – £100 at the end of the year or £10 the end of the month – the better. This insight inspired my work on a Green Carbon Citymapper app and the insistence that it should be at the heart of the DfT Transport Decarbonisation Strategy’
During my time as Minister, this approach – insisting that the stale silos of green or growth is tackled with a much more integrated plan for both industrial strategy leadership and place-based devolution – was being welcomed by both industry and green campaigners. It holds the possibility of a real win-win: unlocking both UK industrial R&D and technology leadership, healthier local transport choices, and planning to achieve our net zero legal targets.The level of support – from both industry and green campaigners – suggests this approach offers the best hope for UK leadership in this area. One thing is for certain. We simply cannot afford to dither or delay any longer.
Action must be taken now before it’s too late. Not just because the levels of congestion, pollution and obesity have risen to appalling and genuinely unsustainable levels in the UK. But also because the COVID-19 crisis has revealed how shockingly vulnerable our globalised economy has become and that we need to be much more pro-active in building resilience into our post-COVID-19 recovery. The future is ours to shape. Together, it’s time to seize this unique opportunity for a more globally resilient model of post-COVID-19 economic growth.
George Freeman MP is the Member of Parliament for Mid Norfolk. He has served as Minster of State for the Future of Transport at the Department for Transport, Chair of the Number 10 Policy Board, Minister for Life Sciences at the Department of Health and Business, UK Trade Envoy and Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Energy and Climate Change.
1. Department for Transport, “Decarbonising transport: setting the challenge”, https://assets. publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/878642/ decarbonising-transport-setting-the-challenge.pdf (2020), 10.
Improving connectivity in our part of the world was one of my first pledges when I began campaigning to be the MP for Mid Norfolk back in 2007.
We know only too well that there has been a historic lack of investment in Norfolk and the East and, while there has been a lot of positive progress in recent years (the full dualling of the A11 and increasing broadband speeds to name just two examples), there remains so much more that needs to be done.
I am immensely proud of the part I played in helping the A47 Alliance secure the £300million required for the first round of A47 dualling improvements. However, although we must get the design and detail correct, it has taken far too long for the works to commence. We need this improvement package as soon as possible if we are to boost safety on our roads and ensure Norfolk has the transport network it needs to unlock its full economic potential.
That’s why I am so pleased to hear that Highways England are to begin their archaeological trial trenching for the key North Tuddenham-Easton project at the beginning of June. This is a vital step forwards – and one that I am assured will be carried out safely and in accordance with all of the current guidelines on social distancing and protective measures.
It remains imperative however that, while this progress is being made, we also ensure that any potential rat-running through the villages south of the key strategic Wood Lane/Berry’s Lane junction at Honingham is minimised. This much needed progress must not come at the cost of our rural way of life here in Mid Norfolk, and at the gross detriment of the communities that live between Honingham and Wymondham.
That’s why I also remain firmly committed to working with the local Taskforce, Highways England, Norfolk County Council and others to not only try and ensure the junction’s layout and design is pulled together correctly, but also to make sure a proper mitigation package is developed to protect this rural communities. I hope to be able to report more on that in the not too distant future.
Whilst I support offshore renewable wind energy and recognise the huge boost it will represent to our economy here in the Eastern region, it is vital that the cabling and connectivity infrastructure is properly planned: to maximise efficiency, reduce waste and cost, and to avoid unnecessary landscape, environmental and economic disruption across our county.
That’s why I am delighted to hear that the Secretary of State has decided to extend the examination period for the Norfolk Boreas Wind Farm development application – from May to, no longer than, 12th October 2020.
Given the current disruption created by the Coronavirus crisis, a whole host of parties (including fellow parliamentary colleagues and I) have been calling for this crucial examination period to be extended – to allow Registered Interested Parties (many of whom are diverting their full energy and attention towards the Norfolk Coronavirus response) additional time to properly engage with the later stages of the examination period. The Secretary of State has listened to those calls and acted accordingly. This is positive news.
Of course, the Norfolk Boreas application is just one part of a much wider problem – the lack of a proper overall strategy for the delivery of offshore wind infrastructure in the East. Together with my fellow parliamentary colleagues, I remain firmly committed to driving this campaign on – both locally and in Westminster.
I hope to have further news shortly.
To read more about the wider campaign I am leading, please click here
The government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will remain open until the end of October, the Chancellor announced today (Tuesday 12 May 2020).
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will continue until end of October
- furloughed workers across UK will continue to receive 80% of their current salary, up to £2,500
- new flexibility will be introduced from August to get employees back to work and boost economy
In a boost to millions of jobs and businesses, Rishi Sunak said the furlough scheme would be extended by a further four months with workers continuing to receive 80% of their current salary.
As we reopen the economy, we need to support people to get back to work. From the start of August, furloughed workers will be able to return to work part-time with employers being asked to pay a percentage towards the salaries of their furloughed staff.
The employer payments will substitute the contribution the government is currently making, ensuring that staff continue to receive 80% of their salary, up to £2,500 a month.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said:
Our Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has protected millions of jobs and businesses across the UK during the outbreak – and I’ve been clear that I want to avoid a cliff edge and get people back to work in a measured way.
This extension and the changes we are making to the scheme will give flexibility to businesses while protecting the livelihoods of the British people and our future economic prospects.
New statistics published today revealed the job retention scheme has protected 7.5 million workers and almost 1 million businesses.
The scheme will continue in its current form until the end of July and the changes to allow more flexibility will come in from the start of August. More specific details and information around its implementation will be made available by the end of this month.
The government will explore ways through which furloughed workers who wish to do additional training or learn new skills are supported during this period. It will also continue to work closely with the Devolved Administrations to ensure the scheme supports people across the Union.
The Chancellor’s decision to extend the scheme, which will continue to apply across all regions and sectors in the UK economy, comes after the government outlined its plan for the next phase of its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The scheme is just one part of the government’s world-leading economic response to coronavirus, including an unprecedented package for the self-employed, loans and guarantees that have so far provided billions of pounds in support, tax deferrals and grants for small businesses.
Today the government is also publishing new statistics that show businesses have benefitted from over £14 billion in loans and guarantees to support their cashflow during the crisis. This includes 268,000 Bounce Back Loans worth £8.3 billion, 36,000 loans worth over £6 billion through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and £359 million through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
Mike Cherry, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said:
The Job Retention Scheme is a lifeline which has been hugely beneficial in helping small employers keep their staff in work, and it’s extension is welcome. Small employers have told us that part-time furloughing will help them recover from this crisis and it is welcome that new flexibility is announced today.
BCC Director General Adam Marshall said:
The extension of the Job Retention Scheme will come as a huge help and a huge relief for businesses across the UK.
The Chancellor is once again listening to what we’ve been saying, and the changes planned will help businesses bring their people back to work through the introduction of a part-time furlough scheme. We will engage with the Treasury and HMRC on the detail to ensure that this gives companies the flexibility they need to reopen safely.
Over the coming months, the government should continue to listen to business and evolve the scheme in line with what’s happening on the ground. Further support may yet be needed for companies who are unable to operate for an extended period, or those who face reduced capacity or demand due to ongoing restrictions.
Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI Director-General, said:
The Chancellor is confronting a challenging balancing act deftly. As economic activity slowly speeds up, it’s essential that support schemes adapt in parallel.
Extending the furlough to avoid a June cliff-edge continues the significant efforts made already and will protect millions of jobs.
Introducing much needed flexibility is extremely welcome. It will prepare the ground for firms that are reawakening, while helping those who remain in hibernation. That’s essential as the UK economy revives step-by-step, while supporting livelihoods.
Firms will, of course, want more detail on how they will contribute to the scheme in the future and will work with government to get this right.
Above all, the path of the virus is unpredictable, and much change still lies ahead. The government must continue to keep a watchful eye on those industries and employees that remain at risk. All schemes will need to be kept under review to help minimise impacts on people’s livelihoods and keep businesses thriving.
The greater the number of good businesses saved now, the easier it will be for the economy to recover.
Further information
Cumulative number of approved facilities
Cumulative value of approved facilities
Cumulative number of applications
Bounce Back Loan Scheme
268,173
£8.378 billion
363,646
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme
35,919
£6.094 billion
71,316
Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loans Scheme
59
£359 million
358
- the applications figure includes approved applications, those applications that are still to be processed, applications that have been declined and those applications that may turn out not to be eligible or cases where customers will decide not to proceed
- figures show cumulative applications and approvals up to close of business on 10 May 2020
- these figures include data from BBB accredited lenders shared directly with HMT by close of business on 11 May 2020
Number of Jobs Furloughed
7.5 million
Number of Employers Furloughing
935,000
Total £ claimed
£10.1 billion
- these figures are up until 9am today
The government’s world-leading scheme to support the self-employed has today opened for claims – weeks ahead of schedule.Self-Employment Income Support Scheme opens for applications today.
Great news that from 8am this morning self-employed individuals or members of partnerships whose business has been adversely affected by coronavirus will be able to apply for a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profits.
Millions are expected to benefit from the scheme with the payments – to be paid in a single instalment covering three months and capped at £7,500 – expected to land in bank accounts within six working days of each claim.
Everyone eligible for the SEISS, which is one of the most generous support schemes announced by any government in response to coronavirus, will be able to receive the government grant by 25 May, or within six days of a completed claim.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said:
We’re working ahead of time to deliver support to the self-employed and from today, applications open for the millions of people eligible for the scheme.
With payments arriving before the end of this month, self-employed across the UK will have money in their pockets to help them through these challenging times.
From today, people will be able to make their claim on a specified date between 13-18 May, based on their Unique Tax Reference number. HMRC has assigned eligible self-employed individuals a specific date to apply on and this can be checked on HMRC’s online checker.
The SEISS it part of a comprehensive package of support for self-employed people, including Bounce Back loans, income tax deferrals, rental support, increased levels of Universal Credit, mortgage holidays and the various business support schemes the government has introduced to protect businesses during this time. Derek Cribb, CEO of IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) said:
For the self-employed, Coronavirus is not only a health crisis, but also a pressing income crisis. It is therefore very welcome that the Government has managed to get this new scheme in place ahead of schedule, and that a section of the freelance community can now get the help they need early. We are delighted that the government has heeded much of IPSE’s advice by setting up the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, which extends a much-needed lifeline to those self-employed people who are eligible for it.
Mike Cherry, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said:
The self-employment income support scheme represents a lifeline for the millions of self-employed people who are expected to qualify. I would encourage all those who think they are eligible to use the online checker if they’ve not done so yet, and to apply on the date allocated.
We are particularly pleased to see the scheme opening earlier than scheduled, with a simple fast-track application and a promise for speedy payment. Getting the system designed and built ahead of schedule is impressive. Just like the Job Retention Scheme portal we hope it will cope with the high expected demand. I would like to pay tribute to the staff of HMRC for the behind the scenes work to get this scheme off the ground.
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders said:
The self-employed account for 40% of the construction workforce so the government’s decision to bring forward the payment to the end May will be very welcome news for the many independent tradespeople who operate in construction. The government’s support package to date has been targeted at businesses so the self-employed will be welcoming this cash boost at a time when they need it most.
Further information
Individuals are eligible if their business has been adversely affected by coronavirus, they traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020, intend to continue trading, and they:
- earn at least half of their income through self-employment
- have trading profits of no more than £50,000 per year
- traded in the tax year 2018 to 2019 and submitted their Self Assessment tax return on or before 23 April 2020 for that year
HMRC calculate the amount to be paid to each eligible claimant based on an average of the tax returns for 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19.
Check if you are eligible for the scheme here.
Customers have been invited to claim their SEISS grant on a specified date, from 13 - 18 May. They won’t be able to apply before their claim date but can make a claim after that day.
People can check their date using HMRC’s online checker at any time.
https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/self-employment-support/enter-unique-taxpayer-reference
For further information, please read HMRC’s guidance or speak to your tax agent. If you need further support, please use HMRC’s webchat service or call the Covid-19 Helpline on 0800 024 1222.
