alison thewliss. went along, there were increasing and angry calls for the government to do more to help workers facing pay cuts or redundancy. a former business secretary said firms watching their incomes collapse had no choice but to lay off staff. he offered a solution. all employers have an account with hmrc to pay tax. the monthly wage bill is known to hmrc, instead of firms paying paye to the government, that flow should now be reversed with the nation paying the wages of people for the next few weeks, if and only if, they continue to employ themselves. separate arrangements will need to be made for the self—employed but at a stroke, this would save people jobs, save businesses, and put an immediate end to risk of contagion, and help save the economy. the urgency of the government is like deliberations on this, there is absolutely, it is at the top of everything we are doing. ministers are working flat out 24/7 to look at all the options. labour said it was more than six weeks since the first ca