Labour calls on government to announce business support by end of today

Labour has called on the government to announce a package of business support by the end of today, after chief medical officer Chris Whitty advised the public to deprioritise most social contact amid the spread of Omicron.

“We are not in lockdown but it would be totally disingenuous to pretend that businesses can trade normally,” Pat McFadden, Labour’s new Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury said in an urgent question today.

“The government can’t pretend that nothing has changed. This is not the time to abandon them and let them go to the wall,” he added, calling for support that “matches the situation British businesses are now facing”.

Treasury minister John Glen told MPs this morning that Chancellor Rishi Sunak – who is understood to be in California – will be speaking to UK hospitality representatives this afternoon to hear their concerns.

Despite Christmas parties being cancelled across the country, and the public being told at the Wednesday Covid press conference that they should only prioritise social activities that “really matter”, no further support has been announced.

Glen said he recognised the “additional pressures” that have accompanied the Omicron variant, but also claimed that the advice on socialising over Christmas is “clear” and added that he would soon be taking his team out for lunch.

His assertion that guidance is “clear” was criticised by MPs on both sides of the House of Commons. It came after Joy Morrissey, a parliamentary private secretary to the justice secretary, criticised Whitty in a now-deleted tweet.

“Perhaps the unelected Covid public health spokesperson should defer to what our ELECTED Members of Parliament and the Prime Minister have decided. I know it’s difficult to remember but that’s how democracy works. This is not a public health socialist state,” she tweeted.

Steve Baker, a leading lockdown sceptic, reflected Morrissey’s point in his question to the Treasury minister, asking whether “when officials speak… they are staying within the bounds of the policy that ministers have decided”.

Wes Streeting, the Shadow Health Secretary, has criticised Morrissey’s tweet as “outrageous” and called on her to apologise for “attacking the chief medical officer in this way”.

Streeting has also criticised Sunak for being absent, saying the Chancellor “might want to get himself on a flight back and get a grip on the situation because businesses need certainty and confidence now”.

Below is the full text of the urgent question today from Pat McFadden, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Mr Speaker, I want to begin by extending my best wishes to my Hon. Friend the Shadow Chancellor as she recovers at home from Covid.

We know where the Shadow Chancellor is, but where is the Chancellor? Why did he decide to proceed with a trip to California on Tuesday when it was already clear that UK businesses were struggling to cope with what the Prime Minister himself has called a “tidal wave” of Omicron?

Even if he is abroad Mr Speaker, California is not exactly a communications desert. They have television there, Mr Speaker. I’ve heard they even have the internet. But still it’s radio silence from the Chancellor. Tumbleweed rolling through the Treasury.

The Treasury says he’s in communication with his officials but what about some communication with businesses who are losing bookings by the hour and watching their December profits vanish into thin air?

Last night the Chief Medical Officer advised the public to “deprioritise social contact”. Adherence to that advice will have a clear and direct impact on the hospitality industry, on live music, theatre and other public events across the country.

The government documents for Plan B say the decision on economic support will be based on data at the time. Well, that time is now.

So let me ask the minister:

• What measures will the government take to ensure that those who have to isolate at home have proper sick pay that enables them to follow the rules?
• What will the government do to help hospitality businesses affected by the Chief Medical Officer’s advice to deprioritise social contact?
• Will any support also apply to live music, theatre and other events?
• What is the government doing to maintain supply chains should they be affected by staff absences in the coming weeks?
• What is the government’s response to the hospitality industry’s call to maintain VAT rates for the sector at 12.5%?
• Will the government also allow local authorities to release any unused funds that they may have from previous Covid aid packages to support businesses right now?

The principle here should be that the level of support should match the economic restrictions in place.

This is not about a blank cheque. There has already been enough wasteful spending from the government in the past two years.

Any package has to be timely, proportionate and properly targeted – and must also guard against fraud. That’s why it needs the full and focused application of Treasury ministers and officials.

We are not in lockdown but it would be totally disingenuous to pretend that businesses can trade normally when the Prime Minister has used a special national broadcast to warn the nation of a tidal wave of Covid infections and the Chief Medical Officer has told us to cut back on social contact.

The government can’t pretend that nothing has changed. This is not the time to abandon them and let them go to the wall.

So will the minister commit to announcing a package of support by the end of today – and I mean UK time not California time – that matches the situation British businesses are now facing?