MORE than a million people have fallen through the cracks of the government’s coronavirus financial support schemes, MPs warned in a report published today.
The Treasury select committee called on ministers to fill “critical gaps” in the schemes by finding ways to protect hundreds of thousands of freelancers and recently employed workers.
They said that Chancellor Rishi Sunak must live up to his promise to do “whatever it takes” to help people through the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic.
Although this was later extended by three weeks, many have still been left behind, the committee said. “Many individuals who had started work before the cut-off date and were still ineligible for support because their employer had not submitted the required paperwork to add them to the payroll,” the MPs wrote.
When they asked Revenue & Customs (HMRC) whether employment contracts could be used as evidence, MPs were told it would take too long. “What we have to do here is get a scheme set up very rapidly; time really has been the enemy of perfection in this,” HMRC said.
The MPs urged ministers to find a way to extend eligibility criteria to all new starters.
The committee also said that the government was failing to help those who have become self-employed within the last year, and freelancers and people on short-term contracts, not least in TV and theatre, would not be covered by the schemes, nor are company directors who take their salaries as dividends.
Commenting on the committee’s report, Philippa Childs, head of entertainment union Bectu, said that it was “yet more evidence that far too many people, particularly in the creative industries, are falling through the cracks.”
She added: “The DCMS (digital, culture, media & sport) select committee found likewise, but action has still not been taken … so it looks increasingly like the failure to act is a choice rather than a problem which hasn’t been solved.”
A Treasury spokesperson said: “All our support is targeted to make sure we use public funds responsibly, helping those who need it most as quickly as possible, while minimising fraud risk.”
