A long wait for self-employed to receive Covid-19 cash

I WELCOME the announcement by the Chancellor that the Government will provide the same level of support for self-employed workers as for furloughed employees. This news will be greeted with relief by families across South Yorkshire.

However, a three-month wait will be too long for many and I believe that the support for self-employed workers should be introduced as a matter of urgency. I will continue to support SMEs and self-employed workers to ensure they can access support in a timely and equitable manner.

Universal Credit claimants have to wait five weeks for their first payment and the offer of an advanced loan will not be enough for those already struggling. If the Government wants people to adhere to the rules – that we all agree must be followed – then it must put the economic conditions in place that will allow them to do so.

We now urgently need to see the detail of this scheme and the effect it will have on our self-employed workers and their families across South Yorkshire.

From: Julian Jessop, Economics Fellow, Institute of Economic Affairs.

THE Chancellor has done a good job in drawing up a sensible package to support the self-employed, who are a relatively diverse group of people with different needs and levels of engagement with the tax and benefit system. But this ‘next step’ is unlikely to be the last he has to take. The Chancellor has said he will look again at the relatively favourable tax treatment of income from self-employment. There is a strong case for levelling the playing field, but this could be done by lowering taxes for those in standard employment.

Raising taxes for the self-employed would be hard to square with the manifesto commitments not to raise the rates of income tax, National Insurance or VAT.

From: Robert Bottamley, Thorn Road, Hedon.

YOUR correspondent Roger Backhouse (The Yorkshire Post, March 25) has argued that China owes no apology for Covid-19 on the grounds that such a crisis can originate in any part of the world.

But the argument obscures China’s real culpability. The country’s government conspired to suppress information about the disease, ordering the arrest of the courageous doctor Li Wenliang who sought to publicise the truth long before events obliged the Chinese authorities to disclose the extent of the threat.

Prior to his death from coronavirus, Dr Li Wenliang stated: “It’s not so important to me if I’m vindicated or not. What’s more important is that everyone knows the truth.” I think so, too. When this crisis has ended, I hope the world recalls Dr Li Wenliang and what he tried to do. The Chinese government won’t appreciate it, but the rest of us should.

From: Edward Garthwaite, Managing Director, Blacker Hall Farm, Wakefield.

I AM proud of how the team at Blacker Hall Farm is pulling together and working hard to try and feed local people.

We are receiving calls from isolated people who may not have had a conversation with anyone else that day. Members of the team are dropping orders off on their way home after a long day at work to try and look after these vulnerable customers. There is a real sense of purpose here and it’s fantastic to be part of it.

From: Roger Backhouse, Orchard Road, Upper Poppleton.

MANDY Rice-Davies was noted for saying “ He would say that wouldn’t he?” So when Paul Baverstock, a former Conservative communications director, praises Boris Johnson’s qualities of leadership and communications skills, he could hardly do otherwise (The Yorkshire Post, March 24). Boris Johnson can be a genuinely funny speaker, but he looks badly out of his depth in dealing with this crisis. Thank goodness for experts.

From: Mr PL Taylor, Milner Street, Lockwood, Huddersfield.

JEREMY Corbyn has criticised the Government for its approach to the coronavirus crisis. To try to make political gain out of such an appalling tragedy is an utter disgrace.

Labour has once again shot itself in the foot. Our democratic system is in jeopardy due to the party’s approach – in effect we are a one-party state, exactly what a democracy is not about.

From: Jarvis Browning, Fadmoor, York.

THIS is not the time for any MPs to criticise what this Government is trying to do to make everybody safe at this critical time, they should all pull together and get this nation through come what may.

We certainly don’t want another negative view similar to the Brexit saga we’ve just had.

From: Brian H Sheridan, Lodge Moor, Sheffield.

THOMAS Reed accuses me of “holier than thou snobbery and pontificating pedantry” at a time when coronavirus should be foremost in our minds (The Yorkshire Post, March 26).

I hold my hands up to pedantry but can assure him that as a cautious individual I take coronavirus extremely seriously and I am following the Government’s advice to the letter.

However, I make no apology for my fascination with words and would add that even Shakespeare’s darkest tragedies contain short scenes of light relief.