Throughout this pandemic, our priority has been clear: to protect lives and livelihoods. The Prime Minister has announced new national restrictions that will prevent further spread of the virus.
We know how worried people are – about their health, the health of their loved ones, their jobs, their businesses, and their financial security. And that’s why the Government’s economic priority remains the same: protecting jobs.
Today the Government is announcing that it will:
- Extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme further, until the end of March .
- Not pay the Job Retention Bonus in February but instead redeploy a retention incentive at the right time .
- Increase the next self-employed grant from 55 per cent to 80 per cent of trading profits.
- Increase the upfront guarantee of funding for the devolved administrations from £14bn to £16bn, on top of their Spring Budget 20 funding.
This comes on top of the extensive support already announced:
- Cash grants of up to £3,000 per month for businesses which are closed in England.
- £1.1 billion for councils in England to further support businesses more broadly over the coming months.
- Extension of existing loan schemes to the end of January and an ability to top-up Bounce Back Loans.
- An extension to the mortgage payment holiday for homeowners.
- Providing councils in England with up to £500 million of funding to support the local healthcare response.
- Over £200 billion on VAT relief, business rate relief, loans, tax deferrals, and support for individuals.
