Newspaper column 19 March 2020 - Support against COVID-19

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to bring an unprecedented response in peace time from this Government. On Monday in a statement to the nation, the Prime Minister said that now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel.

Last week the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave his Budget Statement. As well as the usual positive steps supporting our country including the continued freezing of Fuel and Alcohol rates, a raft of support for small businesses and another rise in the National Insurance Threshold, and the National Minimum Wage,  there was also a lot of additional measures to help us all deal with COVID-19.

The Government has created a new £5 billion Initial COVID-19 Response fund so the NHS can treat Coronavirus patients; councils can support vulnerable people and ensure funding is available for other public services.

The Budget also contained a range of measures to hep employers and employees, including changes to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) rules, changes regarding fit notes and also changes to the ways in which the Universal Credit benefit is claimed.

The Government is also providing £500m more funding so Local Authorities can support economically vulnerable people and households during this time, as well as increasing the Business Rates retail discount to 100% for one year and expanding it to the leisure and hospitality sectors, and the introduction of a £5,000 rates discount for pubs.

The Government will provide an additional £2.2 billion funding for Local Authorities to support small businesses that pay little or no Business Rates because of Small Business Rate Relief. A new temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, delivered by the British Business Bank, will also launch on 1 April to support businesses to access bank lending and overdrafts.

These are challenging times and we as a community will have to pull together to get through it. We need to all do our bit and make sure we look after elderly and vulnerable members of our community, ensuing those who are most at risk are shielded from this virus, while giving our NHS the very best opportunity to cope.

With this in mind I would also like to thank not only our amazing NHS staff who are working around the clock to deal with this crisis, but also those who work in care, and those who keep our services and essential shops running.

I will be regularly publishing updates on my website www.cherilynmackrory.org.uk and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thisischerilyn/. Please email me at Cherilyn.mackrory.mp@parliament.uk and call at 0207 2193713 and messages will be picked up.