The Chancellor has announced unprecedented levels of support for British business in the last few days. However, one group of people are not getting what they need to survive.
Self-employed people have been told that they can claim for Universal Credit at the rate of SSP, which would give them a derisory £94 per week.
Today Ed Davey called on Rishi Sunak to do much more to give our self-employed friends and neighbours, the people who clean our homes, cut our hair, walk our dogs and do so much to make our lives easier.
“The 5 million self-employed people across the country are in real stress & deeply worried. In many cases, they are simply running out of money.”-@EdwardJDavey
With so many set to be dependent on this support for a period of time, it’s vital we ensure they receive enough money. pic.twitter.com/96W3ysQmf5
— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) March 24, 2020
An article on the Lib Dem website sets out the practical help we want to see:
The Liberal Democrats have put down amendments to the Government’s coronavirus legislation to support the self-employed. They are:
INCREASING THE WEEKLY RATE OF STATUTORY SICK PAY FROM £94.25 TO £220
GUARANTEEING 80% OF SELF-EMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS’ EARNINGS, UP TO £35,000By subsidising salaries for workers, guaranteeing incomes for the self-employed and boosting sick pay we can ensure that we are not only protecting our economy, but our society. That is why we are also urging the Chancellor to back a Citizen’s Income, and quickly, to ensure those most in need have financial security.
Leaving self-employed people with no reliable safety net is unacceptable.
While assisting the self-employed does create more challenges than with PAYE employees, the Government must surely err on the side of caution and get help out to people, rather than find reasons and excuses for doing nothing, or too little.
There are clear gaps in what the Chancellor has announced and the Liberal Democrats will continue to push for these measures to be taken forward so that no-one gets forgotten as this crisis continues.
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15 Comments
That is brilliant, but who is going to read it.
We have no platform. My suggestion:
Replace the useless web site with a simple one called Liberal Views.
Statements like this are repeated without the dancing around seen in the current site.
Provide Keywords and a search engine.
With a series of common sense relevant articles the site will attract attention.
@David Beckett – this is what matters: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52020234
On policy matters the party’s website is a resource or reference not our party’s primary method of communicating with the general public. So well done to Ed on getting the BBC to take notice, as well as the HoC.
As a person whose professional trajectory has regularly been, and is normally, self employed, this is terrific, particularly for those like me who have worked in the entertainment or theatrical area. My work has been more in writing, research voice, in recent years, where related to theatre however, this is going to be impacted in future , for all, for some, now, this money essential. All of us in very precarious areas and financial circumstances must favour UBI, it is fair.
Mary
If the website is not our primary method of communication to the public then what is?
@David Becket – websites are resources and we have to send people to them. These days people don’t just drop by to see what is on a website, they mainly go when pushed. Changing the name or appearance of the website won’t change the dynamic.
So we need to use all types of social media (like Twitter above), leaflets, press releases and appearances on news programmes to get our message out there. We are in a multi-channel world.
Ed’s intervention in PMQs seen live was excellent – well delivered, practical and with well-researched detail. As has been argued in a recent LDV thread it is ridiculous that throughout this crisis he has to be described as “Joint Interim Leader” of the Lib Dems. Surely to goodness we can cut through our normal procedures to allow Ed to be appointed for a specified period (one year subject to review?) as Party Leader and commence the process of leadership election only when the country is clearly emerging from the coronavirus crisis. Otherwise we weaken Ed in everything he says and does.
Completely agree, Denis. Ed has the job, give him the title and the authority for a year in the first instance.
The self employed are a difficult section of the workforce to administer financial help for. But they do need help.
I believe one solution could be a ‘tweaking’ of some existing legislation under Statutory Maternity Pay. The very same legislation modified could be used by re-classifying :-
Employer re-classified as The Government
Employee (pregnant) as the Self Employed (Note~ male and female !)
This emergency financial help to self employed, would constitute :-
6 weeks pay for the self employed at 90% average of last 12 months
33 weeks at £148.68 maximum.
At 39 weeks this emergency pay for the self employed ends.
It could be on the statue fast, to help the self employed , and it has a natural ‘sunset clause’ of 39 weeks, which means that the Government (i.e. taxpayer), is not permanently on the hook supporting the self employed for ever?
David has clearly misunderstood our advanced communications policy . As I understand it blue letters are currently being written by thousands of well intentioned supporters because the party has asked them …………..
Is enough being done to protect those working in the food chain, particularly those working on super-market check-outs and those making home deliveries, and those working to maintain the utilities without whom we would not survive? Government announcements show a total lack of sensitivity or awareness in making no mention of these people on whom we all depend.
There is a fairly simple thing that could help immeidiately, grant all claims for Benefits automatically. Instead of a 40 minute phone call just to establish “Identity” just a 2 minute conversation to get name & address. Right now the System is on the edge of collapse.
This is a change that could be made within hours.
We should be demanding that the Government do this now.
Dilettante,
something like tweaking maternity pay could work. There is actually a provision for a maternity allowance for the self-employed https://www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance/eligibility.
If you’re self-employed, to get the full amount of Maternity Allowance, you must have paid Class 2 National Insurance for at least 13 of the last 66 weeks. The full rate is £148.68 a week (or 90% of your average weekly earnings if less).
If you have not paid enough Class 2 National Insurance to get the full rate, you’ll get £27 a week for 39 weeks. You may be able to get the full rate by making early National Insurance payments.
These are all subsistence payments only. The NHS has put out a call for 250,000 volunteers to ensure vulnerable people are safe and well at home and to support local services. As many as 1.5 million vulnerable people across England have been instructed to “shield” themselves from society to ensure they do not get the virus. The volunteers will help ensure these people have vital supplies such as food and medicines. They may also be asked to drive people to appointments or make regular phone calls to those in isolation.
It seems like a good job for idle taxi-drivers and other self-employed who might not have paid enough class 2 national insurance (rather than unpaid volunteers) to take on during the crisis and earn themselves a living at the same time.
Well that looks pretty comprehensive https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-gives-support-to-millions-of-self-employed-individuals
The self-employed will receive up to £2,500 per month in grants for at least 3 months matching the support given to employees.
Actually Joseph no it doesn’t match the support given to employees. Those who’s workplace is in the same building as their home will still have to pay all the costs of running the full building but will not get income from it to pay for the part that is a business expense. That could vary from 10% of their costs if they use a small part of the building to well over 50% in some cases.
David Evans,
for small businesses using their home as an office HMRC publishes guidelines on what you can claim against taxable income https://www.gov.uk/simpler-income-tax-simplified-expenses/working-from-home. These expenses will still be allowable against taxes for the year. The allowances, however, are nothing to get excited about being between £10 and £26 per month to cover extra home expenses like utilities.
If you have business premises at your home e.g. you live in a flat above a shop that you run and pay little or no business rates because of small business rate relief. You will automatically be eligible for a small business grant of £10k to be disbursed by local authorities.
The Retail and Hospitality Grant Scheme provides businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with a cash grant of up to £25,000 per property. Businesses in these sectors with a property that has a rateable value of up to £15,000 will receive a grant of £10,000. Those with a property that has a rateable value of between £15,000 and less than £51,000 will receive a grant of £25,000.
There are additionally government guaranteed business loans available for small businesses as well as the deferral of VAT and income tax payments to ease cash flow problems at this time.
This level of assistance is unprecedented and underscores the seriousness of both the public health and economic crisis.