Rishi Sunak MP, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has this afternoon (March 20), released details of the latest tranche of the bailout package to help staff and employees of businesses affected by the Covid-19 (Coronavirus).
In the live news conference, Mr Sunak promised:
- Government grants to cover 80 percent of the salary of workers up to £2,500 a month, just above the median income
- a Coronavirus job retention scheme, where companies will be able to contact HMRC for a grant to provide most of the wages for people who are not working, but are kept on payrolls
- that the Coronavirus business interruption scheme will be interest free for 12 months, rather than six months as planned
- deferring the next quarter of VAT payments
- increasing Universal Credit standard allowance by £1,000 year for the next 12 months.
- raising the working tax credit basic element by the same amount.
Mr Sunak said:
“We said we would stand together with the British people, and we meant it."
Commenting on the announcements, Russell George AM, the Shadow Minister for Business and Economy, said:
“This announcement is a welcome boost for businesses and all people in the country, both of which have justifiably been anxious about how even the best prepared of them would cope.
“The first duty of a government is to protect the nation. This Conservative UK Government has done just that, and what it was elected to do, by implementing this courageous plan.”