To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people affected by delays in payments under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme; what assessment he has made of the effect of those delays on potential recipients of support; and if he will make a statement.

97% of payments in respect of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) have been made within 6 working days.

There are several reasons why a payment could have been delayed, including mistakes made by the user when completing the claim, or the need for HMRC to conduct additional fraud checks before payment is made.

Where delays in payment have been identified, HMRC have worked quickly to establish the cause and ensure that any issues are resolved quickly.