I'm delighted with the govt's plan announced today. Hugely welcome. Well done to everyone - Mins, civil servants, those outside govt - for their work to get to this point. We now need to encourage, support and cajole employers to take these funds up.
Here's a quick thread. 1/
Here's a quick thread. 1/
First, the promise of guaranteed pay to cover lay-offs, up to a max of £580/ wk, goes well beyond what I was calling for on Monday - and is in line with what @resfoundation set out in their great report this week, and will likely protect millions of jobs. Well done. 2/
The increase in UC - to more or less the same as SSP - is also a big and positive step, and doing this for 12 months for everyone is welcome too. It'll directly benefit more than 2 million low income household, and many hundreds of thousands of new claimants. 3/
Suspending the Min Income Floor for the self-employed is welcome news, as is the decision to raise the LHA to the 30th percentile.
So well done.
On face value, the package looks like it's not perfect, and there's three things in particular that stick out 4/
So well done.
On face value, the package looks like it's not perfect, and there's three things in particular that stick out 4/
First, it appears that SSP has been left untouched. At £94/ week, it is simply not enough (just a quarter of a full-time minimum wage). If those required to self-isolate but who still have jobs to go back to aren't covered by the retention scheme, then SSP needs to go up. 5/
Linked to this, 2 million workers aren't entitled to SSP - and again, if SSP isn't included in the scheme then the LEL needs to be removed so that they can get SSP and at a higher rate than now. 6/
And finally, I think we'll need more on social security - to support the 5m self-employed and those in financial distress. Setting LHA at 30th percentile will leave most renters facing rising debts; and many households need more relief now on utilities, council tax and more. 7/
