The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) has welcomed a recent report from the Public Accounts Committee on government spending on job support schemes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report found that the government lacked proof of the impact of the £97 billion spent on furlough and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) and that around £4.5 billion was lost to fraud and error under the schemes.
Crucially, the report also found that at least £5 billion was paid to employers and self-employed workers who did not see any drop in income during the pandemic, while several million who needed support did not receive any.
This echoed long-standing concerns among those in the self-employed industry that many freelancers were being excluded from financial support. The report stated that, despite the rapid rollout of SEISS and furlough, HMRC was not quick enough to manage problems that lead to many in genuine need missing out on support.
The IPSE was among those to respond to the Committee’s call for evidence when it was compiling the report. The IPSE’s Director of Policy, Andy Chamberlain, welcomed the report, saying it “rightly criticises government’s response during the pandemic.”
Chamberlain continued: “Many of the report’s findings echo the deep concerns we raised over gaps in support for the self-employed throughout the pandemic.”
“We applauded government for the speed at which it set up these schemes, supporting millions of people in a time of crisis. But we grew increasingly concerned that whilst some received more help than they needed, over one million limited company directors and newly self-employed traders were entirely excluded, many of whom were then forced into debt or out of business altogether.”
Upon the publication of the report, Chair of the Committee, Dame Meg Hillier MP said: “Bad actors in British business are running rings around the Revenue. Perhaps some of the same companies that were complaining about even the minimal levels of transparency over billions and billions that were paid out in order to save jobs in this country but are now just lost to the public purse, likely forever.”
“While money that genuinely saved jobs and households was got out admirably quickly, the weak recovery effort will fail to deter potential future criminals. Too many companies claimed that shouldn’t have and now won’t give it back.”
