Proposed Directors' Income Support Scheme

That this House notes the merits of the proposed Directors’ Income Support Scheme (DISS) which is currently under consideration by the HM Treasury; supports the urgent implementation of the proposed DISS which closely follows the structure of the existing Self-Employed Income Support Scheme; recognises that the DISS proposal is based on a company’s trading profits of which verification can be self-certified given a director of a limited company has certain duties under law; understands that by taking account of trading profits rather than dividends, the DISS would allow limited company directors to claim support, unlike previous such Government support schemes; anticipates that the proposed DISS would be secure from fraud or abuse by non-trading companies due to the requirement to claim that support through trading profit; believes that the implementation of that proposed scheme would target companies which intend to continue to trade but which are either impacted by reduced demand or are unable to trade due to the coronavirus outbreak; and considers that the proposed DISS would be a positive step towards helping many of the estimated three million workers who have to date been ineligible for Government support so far established in response to the coronavirus outbreak.