Atherstone's MP promises town businesses Government to get to grips with helping self-employed in 'next few days'

Atherstone MP Craig Tracey has promised local businesses more measures are "high" on his agenda as Boris Johnson is "actively considering further steps" to help self-employed workers through the coronavirus crisis.

Mr Tracey has assured Atherstone Town chairman Brian Henney there will be an announcement in the "next few days" as the Government gets to grips with handing out unprecedented levels of support since the pandemic struck globally.

Last week the Tory administration announced a £350 billion plan to underwrite the wages of millions of workers who face being laid off as activity dries up.

But Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been criticised for doing nothing for the country's five million freelancers, contractors and other self-employed workers.

However, Number 10 signalled that help may be coming, with officials working "around the clock" to find a "well-targeted support package".

Mr Henney, who has his Cubic Apple portfolio of businesses on the Holly Lane industrial estate in Atherstone, wrote to the representative for North Warwickshire at Westminster over lack of help for the self-employed.

Former insurance adviser Mr Tracey replied: "As someone also previously self-employed, you can rest assured that this has been high up on my agenda.

"As I'm sure you know, it is important as well as announcing things that the processes are in place to then physically deliver them, which is why they are having to be drip fed out.

"We are obviously dealing with unprecedented levels of support being given out."

Earlier in the week, Treasury Chief Secretary Stephen Barclay said providing protection for the incomes of the self-employed during the coronavirus outbreak would be "operationally" difficult to deliver.

The Government has faced criticism that it plan to underwrite the wages of millions of workers did not cover the freelancers, contractors and the self-employed.

However, Mr Barclay said they would benefit from measures as the deferral of self-assessment tax requirements, the holidays for mortgage payers and the strengthening of the welfare "safety net".

"We are looking at operationally what we can roll out to people," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

"The main thing we have done is twofold: it is to support the economy as a whole, because the best thing for people who are self-employed as for all people is to sustain the economy and ensure that we can return with those viable businesses, and alongside that strengthen the safety net.

"So we have increased the allowance on Universal Credit, we have made it available from day, we have removed the minimum income floor so if people who are self-employed are working less than 35 hours in a week they are not penalised within the benefits system."

Former Conservative cabinet minister David Davis said the economy could suffer a near "fatal seizure" if they were not protected, arguing it was vital that the Chancellor found a way of extending that support to the self-employed.

Experts have warned that assessing the incomes of self-employed people who are outside the PAYE system would be difficult and would take time to work out.

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell wrote to Mr Sunak on Monday warning of "significant gaps" in the Government's new jobs retention compensation scheme

In a letter signed by more than 100 MPs and peers, Mr McDonnell said: "We welcomed much of your statement on Friday setting out plans to support the incomes of workers impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.

"But your proposal for income support through the scheme does not include the self-employed and freelancers, whose income are now increasingly being seriously affected by the coronavirus outbreak."

The Prime Minister's spokesman has signalled the "difficult position the self-employed are in", adding: "We have always said we will go further where we can and are actively considering further steps.

"We appreciate the urgency of the situation and officials are working around the clock to find a well-targeted support package." Mr Henney is worried that the payment support scheme for small businesses will not start until the end of next month "at the earliest". He explained the Government will provide additional Small Business Grant Scheme funding for local authorities to support small businesses that already pay little or no business rates because of small business rate relief (SBBR), rural rate relief (RRR) and tapered relief. This will provide a one-off grant of £10,000 to eligible businesses to help meet their ongoing business costs.

Eligibility is based on:

- Your business is based in England

- You are a small business and already receive SBBR and/or RRR

- You are a business that occupies property

How to access the scheme

- You do not need to do anything. Your local authority will write to you if you are eligible for this grant.

Guidance for local authorities on the scheme will be provided shortly.

Any enquiries on eligibility for, or provision of, the reliefs and grants should be directed to North Warwickshire Borough Council.