PRESS RELEASE
14 June 2021
ExcludedUK statement in response to today’s announcement by PM
Further to the Prime Minister’s announcement today, ExcludedUK reiterates that +3 million UK taxpayers have been left without support for 15 months and continue to be left out in the cold. This announcement only reinforces the ever urgent need to support those affected who have faced and will continue to face harsh financial difficulty and mounting debt as time passes.
Rebuilding our economy necessitates helping all those individuals and businesses who have been excluded from support, either entirely or largely, who make up a huge swathe of our workforce and business community. These are businesses that have suffered purely as a result of the pandemic, and not helping them is not only oversight, but is down to active and arbitrary policy decisions on the part of the Treasury.
Livelihoods and businesses are at stake, many having already succumbed, and many saddled with debt for years to come. Despite all our calls to the Treasury to address the issue, +3 million continue to face severe financial hardship for years to come.
I am a small business director who’s business supporting the exhibition and events industry has been devastated by COVID restrictions. I have followed and supported Excluded UK but now feel that the Government have no intention of correcting financial support for all those excluded. My local MP also had the same message of ‘sorry but get on with it’. I have received a small furlough monthly payment so I’m personally in debt and my business is in debt with the Bounce Back loan. Is there no case to raise a Judicial Review based on the unfairness of the Government spending public money with some benefiting but others in financial trouble through no fault of their own but because of Government decisions ?
When ExcludedUK was formed in May 2020, we began looking into the possibilities of legal action and sought advice from a few different law firms as well as some other relevant sources, specifically regarding judicial review. We concluded that the potential cost involved together with the narrow scope of a potential judicial review did not make this a viable option to pursue, and something that, even if at all possible, would be a very lengthy process. The deadline for judicial review was 3 months from the announcement of the schemes ie. late July.
With regards to arguing the case for discrimination, the advice we consistently received was that this would be extremely difficult and highly unlikely to firm basis for legal action.
We did follow very closely a couple of other legal actions that were being pursued for excluded related matters in case there may have been an opportunity to pursue legal action on the back of these, but sadly these were not successful and did not progress.
Legal action is therefore not an avenue we are pursuing. However, should any new information come to light such that this could become a potential route to pursue, we remain open to this possibility, but at this stage legal action does not form part of our campaign objectives.
I am one of the excluded self-employed from East Sussex. Congratulations and thank you all for help and support for getting some help finally in April 2021.
In August 2020 I wrote letter to local MP as you suggested in your site ad I have sign the petitions. I have got an answer from the HM Treasury “Unfortunately, HMRC would not be able to distinguish
OFFICIAL genuine self-employed individuals who started trading in 2019-20 from fake
applications by fraudulent operators and organised criminal gangs seeking to exploit
the SEISS. “ I cannot accept this sorry.
Is very interesting that HMRC is now before fifth grant is able to check the “genuine 2019-20 self-assessments”
I would highly appreciate if you would start a new campaign to allow for excluded people to be able to apply as well backdated for the Seiss 1st, 2nd and third Grant as well.
It would be very important, as it is not fair that we have not got any help before April 2021.
Please be reassured that ExcludedUK are addressing all the inconsistencies and issues with all the various grants and support schemes and will keep you updated as our work progresses. Thank you for your continued support