Coronavirus: Newport music teachers 'abandoned'

Hannah Jeans-Wells has been a violin teacher for 18 years

A group of music teachers say they have been abandoned after an offer from a council to pay them during the coronavirus crisis was withdrawn.

Newport council reversed a decision to pay teachers at Gwent Music after the UK government announced its support scheme for self-employed workers.

But some of the teachers have said they are not eligible for the scheme.

Newport council said it was following a "nationally established scheme" to ensure fairness for the self-employed.

The Treasury said the scheme was one of the most generous in the world.

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Hannah Jeans-Wells says she has "no income" after the pay offer was withdrawn

The 90 peripatetic, or travelling, music teachers, said the council has "washed their hands" of the service, which provides tuition for about 14,000 children across Newport, Blaenau Gwent, Monmouthshire and Torfaen.

Hannah Jeans-Wells, who has been a violin teacher for 18 years, works with Gwent Music but has been self-employed since January 2019 and said she was not eligible for the UK government's support scheme.

"Some of us took redundancy last January, so we don't have the relevant accounts or the tax returns. They've forwarded us to HMRC and I have checked and I can't get any help," she said.

"It just feels now like we are just left and we don't know what else to do."

Niamh Aston has started working at Tesco full-time during the pandemic

Another teacher at Gwent Music, Niamh Aston, said she was eligible to claim through the UK government scheme, but has started working at a supermarket full-time to support her income.

She said: "The council promised to look after us. They said 'no one should be in any financial hardship, whether you're employed or self-employed, we will look after you. We will pay you in full'.

"Now the council has just washed its hands of us and said 'sorry, we're not going to pay you'.

"I just wish the council would do something and and recognise that this is seriously going to damage people's lives."

Gwent Music teaches schoolchildren across four counties in south-east Wales

Martin Davis, the chairman of Friends of Gwent Music, said he feared for the future of the organisation.

He said: "I really fear that this financial constraint that they are under - followed by the coronavirus coming in and this withdrawal of funds from local government does mean that the future of Gwent Music is looking very very bleak."

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Newport council said the crisis had meant an "unprecedented change and a continuous review of our work".

It added: "When schools closed and re-purposed as childcare hubs, the council initially agreed to provide funding for self-employed Gwent Music tutors.

"This was at a cost of £25,000 per week and was based on the lack of a national announcement about financial help for self-employed individuals.

"However, at the end of March the government addressed this by introducing the self-employment income support scheme, which allows self-employed tutors to submit a grant claim.

"It also became clear that councils would not be able to claim back any additional costs from government, as Gwent Music is a discretionary, non-essential service."

It added the council had offered support to staff in submitting their claims and it wanted to "ensure fairness" across self-employed people.

A spokesman for the Treasury said those who did not qualify for the scheme could still benefit from other support.

"We've also relaxed the earnings rules for self-employed claimants under universal credit, and some will be able to access our businesses interruption loan scheme," he said.