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MPs demand answers over lack of Covid support for self-employed

Too many excluded from government’s furlough and other support schemes, committee says
Parliament’s spending watchdog has called on the government to explain and fix issues with the tax system that have denied whole groups of freelancers and self-employed workers financial support during the coronavirus pandemic.
The powerful cross-party public accounts committee (PAC) said some of the workforce had “not had a penny” from the government’s multibillion-pound support schemes despite repeat lockdowns blocking many from work, while some large companies had received taxpayer support and paid dividends to shareholders and high salaries to executives.
It said “quirks in the tax system” and problems with HM Revenue and Customs’ computer systems had allowed people to fall through the cracks in the support schemes and made it more difficult for the tax authority to identify fraud.
Campaigners have warned that about 3 million taxpayers – 10% of the UK workforce – have fallen through gaps in the support system and have received no help since the start of the pandemic almost a year ago, with self-employed workers and freelancers among the most likely to be excluded.
Demanding answers from officials, the group of MPs said HMRC should, within six weeks, publish an explanation of why it cannot help those freelancers and other groups that have been excluded from receiving any support, and set out steps it can take to overcome those obstacles.
The report comes amid growing pressure on the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to refresh the government’s emergency support schemes as the UK economy edges closer to a double-dip recession during the second wave of the pandemic.
The PAC said it was concerned that some self-employed taxpayers may have moved on to company payrolls because of the government’s IR 35 tax rules – aimed at stopping tax dodging by disguising employment through so-called personal service companies – but had not been classed as employed at the right time to be eligible for emergency support.
It also said it was common in some sectors – such as TV, film and the wider creative industries – for freelancers to work on a series of short-term employment contracts with gaps in between, which could mean they miss-out on financial support.
The government has spent more than £46bn subsidising the wages of almost 10m jobs since the pandemic began through the furlough scheme, which has been extended until the end of April. More than 2m claims worth more than £18bn have been paid out through the similar self-employed income support scheme.
Warning that people were still falling through the cracks, the PAC report said that HMRC was coming under strain as its it attempted to upgrade its IT systems, handle increased demand during the pandemic, and adapt to the UK’s post-Brexit customs regime.
The report warned the tax authority it was spending too much time patching-up out-of-date and potentially risky computer systems rather than modernising them, with these old systems making it tougher for HMRC to provide reliable and timely data.
Meg Hillier, the chair of the PAC, said: “As public spending balloons to unprecedented levels in response to the pandemic, out-of-date tax systems are one of the barriers to getting help to a significant number of struggling taxpayers who should be entitled to support. And the system is going to struggle, and in many cases fail, to capture or deal with those wrongly claiming it.”
source: Richard Partington
Levant
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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