Today's Headlines

Govt extend furlough scheme - now they must support self-employed

The Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to extend income support for self-employed workers after the Government confirmed that they will extend furlough payments for employees, preventing redundancies.

• The Furlough scheme has helped protect jobs and it is something the Liberal Democrats have campaigned to protect. Liberal Democrats are delighted the Government has done just that and adopted many of our ideas.
• However there are still millions of people that need significant help through this challenging period. Some who moved jobs but were not on their new employer's payroll by mid-March have fallen into a crack in the system and need much more help.
• The lockdown has also been extremely difficult for many self employed people. Taxi drivers, hairdressers, cleaners, childcare providers and millions of other self-employed people are still not getting the help they need.
• The Liberal Democrats led the campaign for a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, which will finally open tomorrow. But the Government must extend this scheme too. Self-employed people have waited far too long for this support, and they must not see it snatched away too early.

Govt must not end virtual parliament

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said the UK government wants to see Parliament return to physical proceedings as soon as possible.

• We are living through a national emergency. We have worked incredibly hard to get Parliament up and running in virtual form for exactly that reason. The current advice is that people should work at home if the can - we have proven that MPs can.
• As yet, the Government has published no guidance as to how MPs and staff are meant to keep a two metres distance from each other whilst working in Parliament. Perhaps most worryingly of all, MPs and staff would be further filling up public transport networks and presumably travelling back and forth to communities all over the country.
• The Government must be absolutely clear why MPs need to be physically in Parliament and how Parliament can be a safe place to work so that MPs and staff do not become a factor in any future peak of the virus.

Govt must invest now to meet COVID-19 rehab surge

The Liberal Democrats are leading a cross party call for the Government to ramp up rehabilitation services given the "huge surge in demand" expected as a result of COVID-19.

• For those who are gravely ill with COVID-19 but are fortunate to recover, a long period of rehabilitation is likely to be essential. Yet allied health professionals, including occupational therapists and physiotherapists, are already under massive pressure and face a mounting backlog of cases - many are deeply concerned about what lies ahead.
• If the Government fails to take action to scale up provision, we risk rehabilitation services being overwhelmed by a huge surge in demand, with thousands missing out on vital support as a result.
• We need hard and fast guarantees that every patient being discharged will have timely access to a personalised rehabilitation programme - whatever they are recovering from. Quality of care for all must not be compromised as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
• Liberal Democrats are calling on Ministers to make clear what steps are in place to further shore up this sector, and to recruit and retain the multi-disciplinary workforce essential to delivering ongoing rehabilitation long term.