Economic impact of coronavirus

Treasury Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 19 Mar 2020 Closed: 20 Jan 2022 Parliament page
In the first stage of its economic impact of the coronavirus inquiry, the Committee issued a call for evidence on the speed, effectiveness and reach of the Government’s and Bank of England’s immediate financial responses to coronavirus. The Committee highlighted gaps in support to the Treasury. In the second stage, … Read more
35 Recommendations
19 Conclusions
3 Reports
51 Letters
23 Events
Activity timeline 58 events
26 Apr
2021
Report published
14 Apr
2021
Correspondence
17 Feb
2021
Correspondence
15 Feb
2021
Report published
10 Feb
2021
Correspondence
8 Feb
2021
Correspondence
3 Feb
2021
Correspondence
3 Feb
2021
Correspondence
20 Nov
2020
Report published
21 Oct
2020
Correspondence
16 Sep
2020
Correspondence
11 Sep
2020
Report published
Recommendations & Conclusions
9 results
Clear
12 Recommendation Rejected
Eighth Report: Economic impact of …
We are concerned that there may be a significant lack of capacity and willingness for...
We are concerned that there may be a significant lack of capacity and willingness for the private sector to step in to provide solutions for corporate indebtedness especially amongst small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Viable SMEs struggling with debt will … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to outline a plan for recapitalising SME balance sheets, stating that accredited lenders, not the government, are best placed to support borrowers with government-guaranteed loans. They have considered the proposed interventions but maintain their view.
HM Treasury
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26 Recommendation Rejected
Eighth Report: Economic impact of …
The Treasury’s macroeconomic forecasting ability appears to have eroded since the formation of the OBR.
The Treasury’s macroeconomic forecasting ability appears to have eroded since the formation of the OBR. The Treasury needs to maintain sufficient forecasting capacity outside the OBR so that it can ensure that it can adapt policy responses rapidly to an … Read more
Government Response
The government rejected the recommendation, stating that the Treasury does not produce its own macroeconomic forecasts and instead relies on independent forecasts from the OBR, Bank of England, ONS data, and external sources for policy advice.
HM Treasury
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5 Conclusion Rejected
Eleventh Report - Economic impact …
By conspicuously leaving out a large proportion of limited company directors from support altogether, we...
By conspicuously leaving out a large proportion of limited company directors from support altogether, we are concerned that the Government is sending out the wrong message—that it is not adequately supporting entrepreneurs and employers, who have suffered significantly from a … Read more
Government Response
The government responded to concerns about the exclusion of limited company directors by explaining that difficulties in identifying eligible individuals and high fraud risks prevent broader support through schemes like SEISS, while noting other available business support.
HM Treasury
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7 Recommendation Rejected
Eleventh Report - Economic impact …
We question whether the Treasury could do more to investigate how to mitigate the fraud...
We question whether the Treasury could do more to investigate how to mitigate the fraud risks inherent in the DISS scheme and similar schemes, and whether the levels of fraud risk merit the Treasury’s position of not providing any support … Read more
Government Response
The government rejected the recommendation to develop new support measures for limited company directors, citing significant difficulties in accurately identifying eligible individuals from HMRC data, high fraud risks associated with self-certification, and the availability of other business support schemes.
HM Treasury
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8 Conclusion Rejected
Eleventh Report - Economic impact …
Although we acknowledge the Chancellor’s intention to target the SEISS at those who are most...
Although we acknowledge the Chancellor’s intention to target the SEISS at those who are most dependent on self-employed income, not all of them would have access to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, as we pointed out in our first report … Read more
Government Response
The government defended its SEISS eligibility criteria, particularly the 50% self-employed income test, stating it is designed to target support at those most in need and citing data on other income sources for those who do not qualify.
HM Treasury
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9 Recommendation Rejected
Eleventh Report - Economic impact …
We believe that the Government should reconsider the 50 per cent limit in the eligibility...
We believe that the Government should reconsider the 50 per cent limit in the eligibility criteria for the fourth tranche of the SEISS grant so that those who derive less than half of their income through self-employment can receive some … Read more
Government Response
The government rejected the recommendation to reconsider the 50% income limit for SEISS eligibility, stating the design aims to target those most in need and noting that stakeholders had initially supported an even higher threshold.
HM Treasury
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10 Recommendation Rejected
Eleventh Report - Economic impact …
There is a striking inconsistency between the way the Government is treating employees earning more...
There is a striking inconsistency between the way the Government is treating employees earning more than £50,000 a year and those who are self-employed and have trading profits above £50,000 a year. Whereas those who are employed can receive support … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the implicit recommendation to remove the £50,000 cap or introduce a taper for SEISS, stating it is not proportionate due to complexity and the small number of potential beneficiaries, and that SEISS and CJRS are fundamentally different schemes.
HM Treasury
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11 Recommendation Rejected
Eleventh Report - Economic impact …
We reiterate our recommendation from our first report in this inquiry that the Government must...
We reiterate our recommendation from our first report in this inquiry that the Government must tackle the cliff edge that exists in the design of the SEISS by removing the £50,000 cap and allowing those with profits just over this … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to remove the £50,000 cap and introduce a taper for SEISS, stating it is not proportionate due to the complexity of administration and the relatively small number of people who would benefit.
HM Treasury
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14 Recommendation Rejected
Eleventh Report - Economic impact …
We recognise that it may not have been possible for the Government to help all...
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 … Read more
Government Response
The government stated it had explored alternative support models, including Northern Ireland's Directors' scheme, but concluded they were not viable due to higher fraud risks and practical issues with identifying eligible populations.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 53 of 35 classified
Accepted 21
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 9
Deferred 4
Not Addressed 8
Rejected 9
Total 35 recs + 19 conclusions
Correspondence 51 letters
14 Apr 2021 Correspondence from the Chief Secretary to HM Treasury, relating to procurement during the pandemic
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17 Feb 2021 To committee Letter from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), relating to gaps in support, dated 3 February 2021
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10 Feb 2021 From committee Letter to Chair from Jonathan Athow, Office for National Statistics, regarding the comparability of GDP figures between countries, dated 1 February 2021
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8 Feb 2021 From committee Letter to Chair from Caroline Miskin, Technical Manager (Practitioner Support), ICAEW Tax Faculty, following up from oral evidence, dated 22 January 2021
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3 Feb 2021 To committee Letter from Chair to Tom Scholar regarding economic analysis and gaps in support, dated 11 January 2021
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3 Feb 2021 To committee Response from Tom Scholar to Chair regarding economic analysis and gaps in support, dated 26 January 2021
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21 Oct 2020 To committee Letter from the Chancellor relating to the expansion of the Job Support Scheme, dated 9 October 2020
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16 Sep 2020 To committee Letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer relating to follow-up from the evidence session on 15 July, dated 13 August 2020
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4 Sep 2020 To committee Letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer re Committee session on 15 July 2020
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1 Sep 2020 To committee Letter from the Office for National Statistics regarding the economic impact of coronavirus, 28 April 2020
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23 Jul 2020 Correspondence from Steve Baker MP to the Chancellor following the Committee’s evidence session, dated 21 July 2020
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21 Jul 2020 To committee Letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer re local lockdown in Leicester, dated 15 July 2020
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15 Jul 2020 Correspondence from Chancellor relating to changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax, dated 7 July 2020
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15 Jul 2020 Correspondence from Chancellor relating to responses to correspondence from MPs, dated 6 July 2020
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9 Jul 2020 To committee Letter from the Prime Minister to Chair relating to COVID-19, dated 16 June 2020
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9 Jul 2020 To committee Letter from Governor of the Bank of England relating to the Treasury Committee oral evidence session on 20 May, dated 29 June 2020
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8 Jul 2020 Chancellor Response regarding COVID19 tests by employers
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7 Jul 2020 To committee Letter from Chair of TSC to Chancellor re COVID-19 tests by employers- taxable benefit in kind
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7 Jul 2020 To committee Letter from Jon Moulton to Chair relating to Future Fund, dated 22 June 2020
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1 Jul 2020 To committee Letter from Chair to Chancellor regarding local lockdowns, dated 1 July 2020
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30 Jun 2020 To committee Letter from Chair of TSC to Governor relating to TSC oral evidence session on 20 May 2020, dated 10 June 2020
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15 Jun 2020 To committee Letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer relating to Covid Lending Data, dated 5 June
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10 Jun 2020 To committee Letter from HM Treasury following the Treasury Committee evidence session on 29 April, dated 22 May 2020
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9 Jun 2020 Correspondence from Jim Harra to the Chair re the number of people who had self-employed income
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20 May 2020 To committee Letter from Chief Executive of Barclays UK relating to Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) website, dated 12 May 2020
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20 May 2020 FCA response to Covid-19 Inquiry phase 1 follow-up questions, dated 12 May 2020
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20 May 2020 Additional information received from HMRC, 14 May 2020, following the committee hearing with Jim Harra (HMRC Permanent Secretary and CEO) on 8 April 2020 about coronavirus support schemes and the impacts on HMRC
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5 May 2020 From committee Letter to Chair from HSBC regarding bank lending data
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5 May 2020 From committee Letter to Chair from RBS regarding bank lending data
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5 May 2020 From committee Letter to Chair from Bank of Ireland UK regarding bank lending data
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5 May 2020 To committee Letter from the Chancellor regarding COVID-19 lending data
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5 May 2020 From committee Letter to Chair from Responsible Finance regarding bank lending data
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5 May 2020 Financial Secretary to the Treasury, HM, Treasury, to the Chair, relating to the Independent Loan Charge Review
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5 May 2020 From committee Letter to Chair from Santander regarding bank lending data
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5 May 2020 From committee Letter to Chair from Secure Trust Bank regarding bank lending data
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5 May 2020 To committee Letter from Stephen Jones, CEO, UK Finance to the Chair, relating to data on lending through the various government loan guarantee schemes, dated 23 April
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5 May 2020 From committee Letter to Chair from Starling Bank regarding bank lending data
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5 May 2020 Email to Committee from Newable Limited regarding bank lending data
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5 May 2020 From committee Letter to Chair from Cynergy Bank regarding bank lending data
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5 May 2020 Email to Committee from the Coventry and Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust regarding bank lending data
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5 May 2020 Jim Harra, Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary, HMRC, to the Chair, relating to Independent Review of analytical and quality assurance processes underpinning HMRC’s Official Statistics
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5 May 2020 To committee Letter from the British Business Bank regarding bank lending data
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5 May 2020 To committee Letter from Chair to Stephen Jones, CEO, UK Finance, relating to data on lending through the various government loan guarantee schemes, dated 30 April
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5 May 2020 From committee Letter to Chair from Virgin Money regarding bank lending data
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5 May 2020 From committee Letter to Chair from Funding Circle regarding bank lending data
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4 May 2020 From committee Letter to Chair from Metro Bank regarding bank lending data
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30 Apr 2020 To committee Letter from Chancellor of the Exchequer, relating to COVID-19 interventions, dated 6 April 2020
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30 Apr 2020 To committee Letter from the Financial Secretary relating to the delay of the reform to the off-payroll working rules, dated 18 March 2020
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30 Apr 2020 To committee Letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, relating to the creation of the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, dated 3 April 2020
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30 Apr 2020 Further summary of evidence to the Economic impact of Coronavirus inquiry
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30 Apr 2020 Chair to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, relating to issues raised in written evidence to the Committee, dated 8 April 2020
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