Contributions
793 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEconomy: UpdateYes. I can repeat the bit of the question in which the noble Lord, Lord Fox, was worried about a wall of cash when the furlough ended, but I caught only about a third of what he…28 Apr 2020HANSARDEconomy: UpdateI share the noble Lord’s concerns about businesses that could be operating. I think we are seeing a gradual return to work. Businesses have now worked out how to manage the…28 Apr 2020HANSARDEconomy: UpdateWould you like me to dial in?28 Apr 2020HANSARDEconomy: UpdateI am afraid the noble Lord rather broke up on me. Madam Deputy Speaker, did you hear the question?28 Apr 2020HANSARDEconomy: UpdateMy Lords—28 Apr 2020HANSARDEconomy: UpdateMy Lords, first, I will address the questions from the noble Lord, Lord Tunnicliffe, on universal credit. I am not aware of specific IT problems, but if the noble Lord is aware of…28 Apr 2020HANSARDEconomy: UpdateMy Lords, I shall now repeat a Statement on coronavirus that was made yesterday in the other place by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The figures have changed since then, and…28 Apr 2020HANSARDEconomy: UpdateYes I have, Madam Deputy Speaker.28 Apr 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Self-employedMy Lords, we estimate that 95% of small businesses will benefit from the structure of the schemes we have been discussing. Beyond that, we have made enhancements to the universal…23 Apr 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Self-employedMy Lords, the Government have taken a number of steps to support the self-employed at this difficult time. On 26 March, the Chancellor announced the self-employed income support…23 Apr 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Self-employedMy Lords, I am very much aware of the urgency and speed with which these things need to be dealt. From midnight on 20 April, 185,000 businesses have claimed under the coronavirus…23 Apr 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Self-employedMy Lords, as I mentioned earlier, we have pushed out some £6 billion of grant payments already, and when HMRC opened its Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme on 20 April some 185,000…23 Apr 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Self-employedMy Lords, I will not repeat the arguments I made in an earlier response. We will of course keep it under review. Some 11 measures have been made available for a variety of…23 Apr 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Self-employedMy Lords, we will certainly keep it under review. I am not able to give a cast iron commitment on that now. It is worth restating that the package of support we have announced…23 Apr 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Self-employedMy Lords, delivering a scheme for the self-employed is a difficult operational challenge, particularly in the rapid timescale required. The Government’s priority is to get support…23 Apr 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Self-employedMy Lords, the Government are making sure that people and businesses have access to the support they need as quickly as possible. We have tried to design measures that can be made…23 Apr 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Self-employedMy Lords, the policy for the proprietor of a business to take a dividend is a personal one. It is done largely to mitigate employers’ national insurance, so I do not believe that…23 Apr 2020HANSARDBudget StatementI do not fully agree with the noble Lord. Most people who have a mortgage do not increase the amount of the mortgage every year when they get a pay rise. A country needs to be…18 Mar 2020HANSARDBudget StatementI do not like debt at all, so I accept what the noble Baroness says. We have also not had a proper drains-up on the impact of the original QE 10 or 12 years ago. It seems to have…18 Mar 2020HANSARDBudget StatementIt is worth reassuring the noble Lord that we have acted pretty quickly. When you think where we have come over the last six or seven days, I do not believe there is any example…18 Mar 2020