Comments made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 31 July 2020.
Our successful furlough scheme will continue to help businesses and protect millions of jobs until the end of October – and our additional £1,000 job retention bonus will ensure this support continues as our economy reopens and people return to work.
We will support jobs and businesses as we come out of this crisis just as we did as we came into it.
Below is the text of the statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the House of Commons on 8 July 2020.
I stood here in March saying I knew people were worried, and I know they are worried still. We have taken decisive action to protect our economy, but people are anxious about losing their job and about unemployment rising. We are not just going to accept that. People need to know that we will do all we can to give everyone the opportunity of good and secure work. People need to know that although hardship lies ahead, no one will be left without hope. So today, we act with a plan for jobs. Our plan has a clear goal: to protect, support and create jobs. It will give businesses the confidence to retain and hire, to create jobs in every part of our country, to give young people a better start and to give people everywhere the opportunity of a fresh start. Where problems emerge, we will confront them. Where support is justified, we will provide it. Where challenges arise, we will overcome them. We entered this crisis unencumbered by dogma and we continue in that spirit, driven always by the simple desire to do what is right.
Before I turn to our plan for jobs, let me first outline the nature of the challenge. Our economic response to coronavirus is moving through three phases. In the first phase, beginning in March, the Government announced social distancing measures and ordered businesses to close, halting the spread of the disease. We put in place one of the largest and most comprehensive economic responses in the world. Our £160 billion plan protects people’s jobs, incomes and businesses. We supported more than 11 million people and jobs through the job retention and self-employment schemes, alongside billions of pounds for the most vulnerable. We supported over 1 million businesses to protect jobs through tax cuts, tax deferrals, direct cash grants and over 1 million Government-backed loans. And we supported public services, with new funding for the NHS, schools, public transport and local authorities. In total, we have now provided £49 billion to support public services since this crisis began.
Analysis I am publishing today shows our interventions significantly protected people’s incomes, with the least well off in society supported the most, and this crisis has highlighted the special bond which holds our country together. Millions of people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been protected by the UK Government’s economic interventions, and they will be supported by today’s plan for jobs. No nationalist can ignore the undeniable truth: this help has only been possible because we are a United Kingdom.
Four months on, as we carefully reopen our economy, we are entering the second phase of our economic response. Despite the extraordinary support we have already provided, we face profound economic challenges. World economic activity has slowed, with the International Monetary Fund expecting the deepest global recession since records began. Household consumption—the biggest component of our economy—has fallen steeply. Businesses have stopped trading and stopped hiring. Taken together, in just two months our economy contracted by 25%, the same amount that it grew by in the previous 18 years. And the independent Office for Budget Responsibility and Bank of England are both projecting significant job losses, the most urgent challenge we now face. I want every person in this House and in the country to know that I will never accept unemployment as an unavoidable outcome. We have not done everything we have so far just to step back now and say, “Job done.” In truth, the job has only just begun.
If the first phase of our economic response was about protection and the second phase—the phase we are addressing today—is about jobs, there will come a third phase, where we will rebuild. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has set out our vision to level up, unite the country, spread opportunity, and repair and heal the wounds exposed through this crisis. I can tell the House that we will produce a Budget and spending review in the autumn.
And we will deal, too, with the challenges facing our public finances. Over the medium term, we must, and we will, put our public finances back on a sustainable footing. In other words, our plan for jobs will not be the last action, but is merely the next, in our fight to recover and rebuild after coronavirus.
Let me now turn to the detail of our plan for jobs. Central to our economic response has been the jobs retention scheme. Furlough has been a lifeline for millions, supporting people and businesses to protect jobs, but it cannot, and should not, go on forever. I know that when furlough ends it will be a difficult moment. I am also sure that if I say the scheme must end in October, critics will say it should end in November. If I say it should end in November, critics will just say December. But the truth is, calling for endless extensions to the furlough is just as irresponsible as it would have been, back in June, to end the scheme overnight.
We have to be honest: leaving the furlough scheme open forever gives people false hope that it will always be possible to return to the jobs they had before. The longer people are on furlough, the more likely it is that their skills will fade, and they will find it harder to get new opportunities. It is in no one’s long-term interests for the scheme to continue forever, least of all those trapped in a job that can exist only because of Government subsidy. So the furlough will wind down, flexibly and gradually, supporting businesses and people through to October.
While we cannot protect every job, one of the most important things we can do to prevent unemployment is to get as many people as possible from furlough back to their jobs. So, today, we are introducing a new policy to reward and incentivise employers who successfully bring furloughed staff back—a new jobs retention bonus.
If you are an employer and you bring back someone who was furloughed, and you continuously employ them through to January, we will pay you a £1,000 bonus per employee. It is vital that people are not just returning for the sake of it; they need to be doing decent work. For businesses to get the bonus, the employee must be paid at least £520, on average, in each month from November to January, the equivalent of the lower earnings limit in national insurance.
The House should understand the significance of this policy. We will pay the bonus for all furloughed employees. So if employers bring back all 9 million people who have been furloughed, that would be a £9 billion policy to retain people in work. Our message to business is clear: if you stand by your workers, we will stand by you.
The furlough was the right policy to support people through the first phase of this crisis, but now, in this new phase, we need to evolve our approach. Today, I want to set out for the House a new three-point plan for jobs. We need to: first, support people to find jobs; secondly, create jobs; and, thirdly, protect jobs.
Let me start with supporting jobs, in particular the help we want to provide for those who will be hardest hit by this crisis: younger people. Over 700,000 people are leaving education this year. Many more are just starting out in their careers. Coronavirus has hit them hard—under-25s are two and a half times as likely to work in a sector that has been closed.
We cannot lose that generation, so today I am announcing the kick-start scheme, a new programme to give hundreds of thousands of young people in every region and every nation of Britain the best possible chance of getting on and getting a job. The kick-start scheme will pay employers directly to create new jobs for any 16 to 24-year-old at risk of long-term unemployment. These will be new jobs, with the funding conditional on the firm proving that the jobs are additional. These will be decent jobs, with a minimum of 25 hours per week paid at least the national minimum wage, and they will be good-quality jobs, with employers providing kick-starters with training and support to find a permanent job.
If employers meet those conditions, we will pay young people’s wages for six months, plus an amount to cover overheads. That means, for a 24-year-old the grant will be around £6,500. Employers can apply to be part of the scheme from next month, with the first kick-starters in their new jobs this autumn. I urge every employer, big or small, national or local, to hire as many kick-starters as possible. Today, I am making available an initial £2 billion, enough to fund hundreds of thousands of jobs, and I commit: there will be no cap on the number of places available.
We can do more for young people. Traineeships are a proven scheme to get young people ready for work, and we know they work, so for the first time ever we will pay employers £1,000 to take on new trainees, with triple the number of places. What is more, to help 18 to 19-year-olds leaving school or college to find work in high-demand sectors, such as engineering, construction and social care, we will provide £100 million to create more places on level 2 and 3 courses.
The evidence says that careers advice works, too, so we will fund it, with enough new careers advisers to support over a quarter of a million more people. We will also expand our universal skills offer. Sector-based work academies provide training, work placements and a guaranteed job interview in high-demand sectors, and the evidence shows they work, so we will expand them, by tripling the number of places.
We know that apprenticeships work, too, with 91% of apprentices staying in work or doing further training afterwards, so for the next six months we will pay employers to create new apprenticeships. We will pay businesses to hire young apprentices, with a new payment of £2,000 per apprentice, and introduce a brand new bonus for businesses to hire apprentices aged 25 and over, with a payment of £1,500. I thank my right hon. Friend the Education Secretary for his support and commitment in developing these measures.
We know that the longer someone is out of work, the harder it is for them to return. Millions of people are moving on to universal credit and need urgent support to get back to work, so we are doubling the number of work coaches in jobcentres, increasing the flexible support fund, extending the rapid response service, expanding the work and health programme, and developing a new scheme to support the long-term unemployed. The academic and economic evidence tells us these are among the most effective things we can do.
For that reason, I am investing an extra £1.2 billion in the Department for Work and Pensions to support millions of people back to work, and I am grateful for everything my right hon. Friend the Work and Pensions Secretary and her incredible team have done. I am talking about £1 billion of support for the unemployed, more money for skills, traineeships, apprenticeships, and a new, good-quality job for hundreds of thousands of new kick-starters. That is the first part of our plan for jobs.
The second part of our plan is to support job creation, and that begins with historic investment in infrastructure to create jobs in every region and nation of the UK. At the Budget, I announced £88 billion of capital funding this year, and last week the Prime Minister announced our plans to accelerate £5 billion of additional investment projects. We are doubling down on our ambition to level up, with better roads, better schools, better hospitals and better high streets, creating jobs in all four corners of the country.
As well as investing in infrastructure, we want to create green jobs. This will be a green recovery, with concern for our environment at its heart, and as part of that, I am announcing today a new £2 billion green homes grant. From September, homeowners and landlords will be able to apply for vouchers to make their homes more energy efficient and create local jobs. The grants will cover at least two thirds of the cost—up to £5,000 per household—and for low-income households we will go even further, with vouchers covering the full cost, up to £10,000.
On top of the £2 billion voucher scheme, I am releasing £1 billion of funding to improve the energy efficiency of public sector buildings, alongside a £50 million fund to pilot the right approach to decarbonise social housing. Taken together, we expect these measures to make more than 650,000 homes more energy efficient; to save households up to £300 a year on their bills; to cut carbon by more than half a megatonne per year—equivalent to taking 270,000 cars off the road; and, most importantly right now, to support around 140,000 green jobs. A £3 billion green jobs plan to save money, cut carbon and create jobs.
One of the most important sectors for job creation is housing. The construction sector adds £39 billion a year to the UK economy. House building alone supports nearly three quarters of a million jobs, with millions more relying on the availability of housing to find work. But property transactions fell by 50% in May. House prices have fallen for the first time in eight years and uncertainty abounds in the market—a market we need to be thriving. We need people feeling confident—confident to buy, sell, renovate, move and improve. That will drive growth. That will create jobs. So to catalyse the housing market and boost confidence, I have decided today to cut stamp duty.
Right now, there is no stamp duty on transactions below £125,000. Today, I am increasing the threshold to half a million pounds. This will be a temporary cut running until 31 March next year, and, as is always the case, these changes to stamp duty will take effect immediately. The average stamp duty bill will fall by £4,500 and nearly nine out of 10 people buying a main home this year will pay no stamp duty at all. Stamp duty cuts, a £5,000 green homes grant and tens of billions of pounds of new capital projects—we are creating jobs: the second part of our plan for jobs.
The final part of our plan will protect jobs that already exist by helping some of our highest-employing but hardest-hit sectors: hospitality and tourism. Our economy relies on consumption, especially social consumption: the pubs, cafés, restaurants, hotels and B&Bs that bring life to our villages, towns and cities. Taken together, these sectors employ over 2 million people—disproportionately younger, women and people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. Many rural and coastal communities rely on these industries. Some 80% of hospitality firms temporarily stopped trading in April and 1.4 million workers have been furloughed—the highest proportions of any sector. So the best jobs programme we can do is to restart these sectors and get our pubs, restaurants, cafés and B&Bs bustling again.
I know people are cautious about going out, but we would not have lifted the restrictions if we did not think we could do so safely. I have seen in the last few weeks how hard businesses are working to make their premises safe, and if we follow the guidance and respect what they ask us to do, we can all enjoy summer safely. In turn, we need to give these businesses the confidence to know that if they open up, invest in making their premises safe and protect jobs, demand will be there—and be there quickly. So today, I am announcing two new measures to get these sectors moving and protect jobs.
First, at the moment, VAT on hospitality and tourism is charged at 20%, so I have decided, for the next six months, to cut VAT on food, accommodation and attractions. Eat-in or hot takeaway food from restaurants, cafés and pubs; accommodation in hotels, B&Bs, campsites and caravan sites; attractions like cinemas, theme parks and zoos—all these and more will see VAT reduced, from next Wednesday until 12 January, from 20% to 5%. This is a £4 billion catalyst for the hospitality and tourism sectors, benefiting over 150,000 businesses and consumers everywhere—all helping to protect 2.4 million jobs.
But we will go further. The final measure I am announcing today has never been tried in the UK before. This moment is unique. We need to be creative. So, to get customers back into restaurants, cafés and pubs and protect the 1.8 million people who work in them, I can announce today that, for the month of August, we will give everyone in the country an eat-out-to-help-out discount. Meals eaten at any participating business, Monday to Wednesday, will be 50% off, up to a maximum discount of £10 per head for everyone, including children. Businesses will need to register and can do so through a simple website, open next Monday. Each week in August, businesses can then claim the money back, with the funds in their bank account within five working days. Some 1.8 million people work in this industry. They need our support, and with this measure, we can all eat out to help out. A VAT cut to 5% and a first-of-its-kind Government-backed discount for all—that is the third part of our plan for jobs.
A £1,000 jobs retention bonus; new, high-quality jobs for hundreds of thousands of young kick-starters; £1 billion to double the number of work coaches and support the unemployed; more apprenticeships, more traineeships and more skills funding; billions of pounds for new job creation projects across the country; a £3 billion plan to support 140,000 green jobs; and, in this vital period, as we get going again, VAT cut, stamp duty cut and meals out cut—all part of our plan for jobs worth up to £30 billion.
Governments, much less people, rarely get to choose the moments that define them. What choice there is comes in how we respond. For me, this has never just been a question of economics, but of values. I believe in the nobility of work. I believe in the inspiring power of opportunity. I believe in the British people’s fortitude and endurance. And it is that value, endurance, more than any other that we need to embody now—a patience to live with the uncertainty of the moment and to find that new balance between safety and normality. We will not be defined by this crisis but by our response to it. It is an unambiguous choice to make this moment meaningful for our country in a way that transcends the frustration and loss of recent months. It is a plan to turn our national recovery into millions of stories of personal renewal. It is our plan for jobs, and I commend it to this House.
Below is the text of the statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 29 May 2020.
Good evening.
I’m joined here in Downing Street by Professor Steve Powis, Medical Director of NHS England.
Let me begin with the latest figures:
4,043,686 tests have been carried out in the UK, including 131,458 tests yesterday
271,222 people have tested positive, an increase of 2,095 cases since yesterday
sadly, of those who tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 38,161 people have now died
that’s an increase of 324 fatalities since yesterday
Our thoughts, as always, are with the family and friends of those who have lost their lives.
Today’s figures confirm what the PM has said:
We are past the peak. We are flattening the curve. We have protected the NHS and the number of deaths is falling.
Over the coming weeks, we can now take careful but deliberate steps to reopen our economy.
Across the country, office lights will be turned on and windows thrown open.
Work clothes and school uniforms will be pulled out of the wardrobe.
Shops and factories will start to hum with activity.
As we enter this new phase, things will change.
Businesses will need to become Covid secure to protect staff and customers.
We will all need to stay alert as we go about our daily lives.
And, as Britain returns to work, we need to adapt the emergency programmes we put in place to bridge through the crisis.
Because of those programmes, our economic prospects are better than they otherwise would have been.
We have provided:
tens of billions of pounds of tax cuts, tax deferrals, cash grants and discounted loans for businesses.
income protection for millions of the self-employed
a strengthened safety net to protect millions of our most vulnerable people
And our job retention scheme has now supported more than 8 million jobs and over a million businesses.
No British Government, Labour or Conservative, has ever done anything like this.
I believe it has made a real difference.
But as we reopen the economy, there is broad consensus across the political and economic spectrum:
The furlough scheme cannot continue indefinitely.
Two weeks ago, I outlined the principles of my approach:
the furlough scheme will remain open all the way until October
we will ask employers to start contributing, as we also introduce flexible furloughing
and employees will see no change to their level of support
As promised, I can provide more details today.
I believe it is right, in the final phase of this eight-month scheme…
…to ask employers to contribute, alongside the taxpayer, towards the wages of their staff.
But I understand, too, that businesses and employers have been through an incredibly difficult time.
So I have decided to ask employers to pay only a modest contribution, introduced slowly over the coming months.
In June and July, the scheme will continue as before, with no employer contribution at all.
In August, the taxpayer contribution to people’s wages will stay at 80%.
Employers will only be asked to pay National Insurance and employer pension contributions…
…which, for the average claim, account for just 5% of total employment costs.
By September, employers will have had the opportunity to make any necessary changes to their workplaces and business practices.
Only then, in the final two months of this eight-month scheme, will we ask employers to start paying towards people’s wages.
In September, taxpayers will pay 70% of the furlough grant, with employers contributing 10%.
In October, taxpayers will pay 60%, and employers will contribute 20%.
Then, after eight months of this extraordinary intervention…
…of the government stepping in to help pay people’s wages, the scheme will close.
The biggest request I’ve heard from businesses large and small, right across our country, is to have the flexibility to decide what is right for them.
So, to protect jobs, and help businesses decide how quickly to bring their workforce back, we are introducing a new, more flexible furlough.
This is a critical part of our plan to kickstart the economy.
The financial security of the furlough scheme has been a relief for many, but at the same time people want to work.
No one wants to be at home on furlough. No one wants to feel unable to contribute.
So HMRC and the Treasury have worked hard to put the flexible furlough in place not from August 1st, as originally planned, but from July 1st – one month early.
From July 1st, employers will have the maximum possible flexibility to decide on the right arrangements for them and their furloughed staff.
For instance, if you are watching at home and on furlough, your employer could bring you back two days a week.
They would pay you for those two days as normal, while the furlough scheme will continue to cover you for the other three working days.
To allow us to introduce this new, flexible furlough from July 1st, we will need to close the old scheme to new entrants on June 30th.
Employers wanting to place new employees on the scheme will need to do so by June 10th…
…to allow them time to complete the minimum furlough period before then.
Alongside the furlough scheme for employees, our economic response has also supported the self-employed:
2.3 million people have now applied for our income support scheme.
I know people have been waiting to hear whether the scheme will be extended;
I understand people have been anxious.
I can confirm today:
The self-employment income scheme will be extended, with applications opening in August for a second and final grant.
The final grant will work in the same way as the first did, paid out in a single installment covering three months’ worth of average monthly profits.
To maintain the sense of fairness alongside the job retention scheme…
…the value of the final grant will be 70%, up to a total £6,570.
Otherwise, there will be no changes and no further extensions to the schemes, which continue to be some of the most generous in the world.
Our economic response to coronavirus was designed to keep people in work, protect people’s incomes, and support businesses.
All to give us the best chance of recovering quickly as the economy reopens.
These measures have been on a scale unmatched by any government in recent history.
But I do want to acknowledge that we haven’t been able to support everyone in the exact way they would want.
I understand some people have felt frustrated. But you were not and have not been forgotten.
Even if you don’t qualify for the furlough or self-employment schemes, we’ve provided a wide range of support…
…from discounted loans, to tax cuts, mortgage holidays and enhanced welfare.
Now, our thoughts, our energies, our resources must turn to looking forward, to planning for the recovery.
And we will need the dynamism of our whole economy as we fight our way back to prosperity.
Not everything will look the same as before.
It won’t be the case that we can simply put the key in the lock, open the door, and step into the world as it was in January.
We will develop new measures to grow the economy, to back business, to boost skills, and to help people thrive in the new post-Covid world.
Today, a new national collective effort begins: to reopen our country and kickstart our economy.
Thank you.
Below is the text of the statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the House of Commons on 12 May 2020.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for your warm wishes.
This Government’s plan is one of the most comprehensive anywhere in the world. We have provided billions of pounds of cash grants, tax cuts and loans for over 1 million businesses, tens of billions of pounds of deferred taxes, income protection for millions of the self-employed, and a strengthened safety net to protect millions of our most vulnerable people. These schemes speak to my and this Conservative Government’s values. We believe in the dignity of work, and we are doing everything we can to protect people currently unable to work.
Yesterday my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out our plan for the next phase of the public health response, and today I can confirm the next stage of our job retention scheme. This scheme has been a world-leading economic intervention, supporting livelihoods and protecting futures. Seven and a half million jobs have been furloughed—jobs we could have lost if we had not acted—and nearly 1 million businesses supported who could have closed shop for good.
As we reopen the economy, we will need to support people back to work. We will do so in a measured way. I can announce today that the job retention scheme will be extended for four months, until the end of October. By that point, we will have provided eight months of support to British people and businesses. Until the end of July, there will be no changes whatsoever, from August to October the scheme will continue for all sectors and regions of the UK, but with greater flexibility to support the transition back to work. Employers currently using the scheme will be able to bring furloughed employees back part-time. We will ask employers to start sharing with the Government the cost of paying people’s salaries.
Full details will follow by the end of May, but I want to assure people today of one thing that will not change: workers will, through the combined efforts of the Government and employers, continue to receive the same level of overall support as they do now, at 80% of their current salary, up to £2,500 a month.
I am extending the scheme because I will not give up on the people who rely on it. Our message today is simple. We stood behind Britain’s workers and businesses as we came into this crisis and we will stand behind them as we come through the other side.
Below is the text of the statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 20 April 2020.
Good evening from Downing Street, where I’m joined by Professor Angela McLean, Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser, and Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director of Public Health England.
Before I provide an update on the economic situation, let me start by addressing the issue uppermost on people’s minds – personal protective equipment, or PPE.
This is an international challenge that many other countries are experiencing.
Alongside the efforts of British businesses and our embassies around the world, we are working hard to get the PPE our frontline NHS and social care staff need.
We have appointed Paul Deighton, formerly Chief Executive of London 2012 Olympics, to lead on our domestic efforts to make an increase the supply of PPE.
And we are receiving shipments of PPE regularly from suppliers in the UK and abroad.
We’re working to resolve the Turkish shipment of PPE as soon as possible, following some unexpected delays at the weekend.
Today, we have unloaded a shipment of 140,000 gowns from Myanmar.
And we are, of course, continuing to pursue every possible option for PPE procurement.
Let me turn now to the economic situation.
Exactly a month ago today I stood at this lectern and said we would step in and help pay to people’s wages.
We promised this support would be available by the end of April – today, we deliver our promise.
HMRC opened the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme at 8 o’clock this morning.
As of 4 o’clock this afternoon, over 140,000 firms have applied…
and the grants they’ll receive will help pay the wages of more than a million people…
…a million people who, if they hadn’t been furloughed, would have been at risk of losing their job.
Firms applying today should receive their cash in six working days. HMRC will continue to provide updates on the number of people furloughed.
And let me put on record my thanks to the thousands of staff at HMT and HMRC who have made this happen.
People have come out of retirement, put aside their normal duties, and worked around the clock, from their kitchen tables and spare rooms, to get this new system up and running.
This remarkable story of public service reminds us how many different people are playing a role in this crisis – and I’m very grateful to all of them, for everything they’ve done.
It’s important to be clear why we have introduced the CJRS, and the other schemes we’ve put in place to support the self-employed and businesses.
We’ve never seen an economic crisis like this one.
Times like this demand that we put aside ideology and orthodoxy.
Times like this demand that the state turns to its most immediate purpose: the protection and support of its people.
The goal of the new schemes we’ve developed is to maintain as many people as possible in their existing jobs;
to support viable businesses to stay afloat;
and to protect the incomes of the self-employed to allow them to trade again.
To maintain, in other words, our economy’s productive capacity so that we can bridge through this crisis.
That is what we have done – and the Office for Budget Responsibility said last week that the situation would have been much worse if it hadn’t been for our actions.
But in everything we have done, even in our defence against the immediate crisis, we have also been sowing the seeds of our ultimate recovery.
As we look ahead and start to plan for our recovery, it is critical we don’t just maintain companies and jobs that already exist…
…but that we also encourage the businesses, jobs and technologies of the future.
Innovation and entrepreneurship have powered growth in our country for centuries; and it is what will drive our growth as we recover from this crisis.
To that end, earlier today, I launched two initiatives to support the most innovative firms in the county, worth £1.25 billion.
First, we are launching a new Future Fund worth £500 million, to make sure that high growth companies across the UK can continue to access the investment they need during the crisis.
Launching in May, the Future Fund will provide UK-based early stage companies with convertible loans between £125,000 and £5 million.
Our Future Fund will match investments made by private investors in early stage businesses, on terms that protect the UK taxpayer.
Second, alongside the new Future Fund, the Business Secretary, Alok Sharma, has worked closely with Innovate UK – our national innovation agency…
…to provide £750 million of grant and loan funding for tens of thousands of highly innovative firms…
…in every sector, and every region and nation of the UK.
He, like I, believes strongly in the role of innovation and enterprise in recovering our economy.
As I said last week, right now, the most important thing we can do for the health of our economy is to protect the health of our people.
We must continue to slow the spread of the virus;
to make sure fewer people need hospital treatment at any one time;
and protect the NHS’s ability to cope.
Today, the government’s ongoing monitoring and testing programme reports:
501,379 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out, including 19,316 tests carried out yesterday
124,743 people have tested positive, an increase of 4,676 cases since yesterday
17,971 people are currently in hospital with coronavirus in the UK
and sadly, of those who have been hospitalised, 16,509 have now died – an increase of 449 fatalities since yesterday.
Our thoughts are with the families and friends of all those who have lost their lives.
As we look forward, towards the next stage in our battle against this disease, there are encouraging signs we have been making progress.
But before we consider it safe to adjust any of the current social distancing measures, we must be satisfied that we have met the five tests set out last week by the First Secretary.
Those tests mean that the NHS can continue to cope;
that the daily death rate falls sustainably and consistently;
that the rate of infection is decreasing; that the operational challenges have been met;
and, most importantly, that there is no risk of a second peak.
So I want to thank each and every person across the UK who is following the government’s advice to stay at home, protect our NHS and, ultimately, save lives.
Thank you.
Below is the text of the statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 14 April 2020.
Good evening from Downing Street, where I’m joined by Steve Powis, Medical Director of the NHS and Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director at Public Health England.
Earlier today, the government’s independent fiscal watchdog…
…the Office for Budget Responsibility, the OBR…
…published a report into the impact of coronavirus on the economy and public finances.
It’s important to be clear that the OBR’s numbers are not a forecast or prediction.
They simply set out what one possible scenario might look like – and it may not even be the most likely scenario.
But it’s important we are honest with people about what might be happening to our economy.
So before I turn to the health figures, I want to spend a few minutes explaining what the OBR have said – and let me thank them for their continued work.
There are three brief points I want to make.
First, the OBR’s figures suggest the scale of what we are facing will have serious implications for our economy here at home…
…in common with other countries around the world.
These are tough times – and there will be more to come.
As I’ve said before, we can’t protect every business and every household.
But we came into this crisis with a fundamentally sound economy, powered by the hard work and ingenuity of the British people and British business.
So while those economic impacts are significant – the OBR also expect them to be temporary…
…with a bounce back in growth.
The second point I want to make is that we’re not just going to stand by and watch this happen.
Our planned economic response is protecting millions of jobs, businesses, self-employed people, charities and households.
Our response aims to directly support people and businesses while the restrictions are in place…
…and to make sure as restrictions are changed, we can, as quickly as possible, get people back to work; get businesses moving again; and recover our economy.
The OBR today have been clear that the policies we have set out will do that.
The OBR today have been clear that if we had not taken the actions we have, the situation would be much worse.
In other words, our plan is the right plan.
The third point I want to make is this: right now, the single most important thing we can do for the health of our economy is to protect the health of our people.
It’s not a case of choosing between the economy and public health – common sense tells us that doing so would be self-defeating.
At a time when we are seeing hundreds of people dying every day from this terrible disease, the absolute priority must be to focus all of our resources…
…not just of the state, but of businesses, and of all of you at home as well, in a collective national effort to beat this virus.
The government’s approach is to follow scientific and medical advice through our step-by-step action plan…
…aiming to slow the spread of the virus, so fewer people need hospital treatment at any one time, protecting the NHS’s ability to cope.
I said in my Budget a month ago that whatever the NHS needs, it will get – and we have honoured that promise:
Yesterday we published an update showing that we’ve given our public services an extra £14.5 billion in recent weeks.
We are taking action to increase NHS capacity, with more beds, more key staff and more equipment on the front-line.
And the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will be updating on our plans for social care tomorrow.
This is why we are instructing people to stay at home, so that we can protect our NHS and save lives.
I can report that through the government’s ongoing monitoring and testing programme, as of today:
302,599 people in the UK have now been tested for coronavirus, with 93,873 people testing positive
19,706 people in the UK have been admitted to hospital with the virus, down from 20,184 people yesterday;
Sadly, of those in hospital, 12,107 people have now died – an increase of 778 fatalities since yesterday.
Our thoughts are with the families and friends of all those who have lost their lives.
These figures are a powerful reminder to us all of the importance of following the government’s guidance:
Stay at home. Protect our NHS. And save lives.
Thank you.
Below is the text of the statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 26 March 2020.
Good afternoon.
Today I can announce the next step in the economic fight against the Coronavirus pandemic, with new support for the self-employed.
Our step-by-step action plan is aiming to slow the spread of Coronavirus so fewer people need hospital treatment at any one time, protecting the NHS’s ability to cope.
At every point, we have followed expert advice to be controlled in our actions – taking the right measures at the right times.
We are taking unprecedented action to increase NHS capacity by increasing the numbers of beds, key staff and life-saving equipment on the front-line to give people the care they need.
That is why it is absolutely critical that people follow our instructions to stay at home, so we can protect our NHS and save lives.
Our action plan to beat the pandemic is the right thing to do – but we know people are worrying about their jobs and their incomes.
Working closely with businesses and trade unions, we have put together a coherent, coordinated and comprehensive economic plan – a plan which is already starting to make a difference:
big employers like Brewdog, Timpsons and Pret have already said that our Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme means they can furlough thousands of staff, rather than laying them off. And we are publishing this evening detailed guidance on how the scheme will operate so that other businesses can take advantage, too
small businesses are already benefiting from Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans of up to £5 million, which are interest free for 12 months – with 30,000 enquiries in just four days
local authorities are already informing more than 700,000 retail, hospitality and leisure businesses that they will pay no business rates this year
and the new hardship grants scheme, providing cash grants of up to £25,000 for the smallest businesses, is now up and running
So if any business is struggling, and worrying they may need to lose staff, I would urge you to log on to businesssupport.gov.uk, and look very carefully at what support is available before deciding to lay people off.
I’m proud of what we’ve done so far, but I know that many self-employed people are deeply anxious about the support available for them.
Musicians and sound engineers; plumbers and electricians; taxi drivers and driving instructors; hairdressers and childminders and many others, through no fault of their own, risk losing their livelihoods.
To you, I say this: You have not been forgotten. We will not let you behind. We are all in this together.
So, to support those who work for themselves, today I am announcing a new Self-Employed Income Support Scheme.
The government will pay self-employed people, who have been adversely affected by the Coronavirus, a taxable grant worth 80% of their average monthly profits over the last three years, up to £2,500 a month.
This scheme will be open for at least three months – and I will extend it for longer if necessary.
You’ll be able to claim these grants and continue to do business.
And we’re covering the same amount of income for a self-employed person as we are for furloughed employees, who also receive a grant worth 80%.
That’s unlike almost any other country and makes our scheme one of the most generous in the world.
Providing such unprecedented support for self-employed people has been difficult to do in practice.
And the self-employed are a diverse population, with some people earning significant profits.
So I’ve taken steps to make this scheme deliverable, and fair:
to make sure that the scheme provides targeted support for those most in need, it will be open to anyone with income up to £50,000.
to make sure only the genuinely self-employed benefit, it will be available to people who make the majority of their income from self-employment
and to minimise fraud, only those who are already in self-employment, who have a tax return for 2019, will be able to apply
95% of people who are majority self-employed will benefit from this scheme.
HMRC are working on this urgently and expect people to be able to access the scheme no later than the beginning of June.
If you’re eligible, HMRC will contact you directly, ask you to fill out a simple online form, then pay the grant straight into your bank account.
And to make sure no one who needs it misses out on support, we have decided to allow anyone who missed the filing deadline in January, four weeks from today to submit their tax return.
But I know many self-employed people are struggling right now, so we’ve made sure that support is available.
Self-employed people can access the business interruption loans.
Self-assessment income tax payments, that were due in July, can be deferred to the end of January next year.
And we’ve also changed the welfare system so that self-employed people can now access Universal Credit in full.
A self-employed person with a non-working partner and two children, living in the social rented sector, can receive welfare support of up to £1,800 per month.
The scheme I have announced today is fair.
It is targeted at those who need it the most.
Crucially, it is deliverable.
And it provides an unprecedented level of support for self-employed people.
As we’ve developed the scheme, I’m grateful for the conversations I’ve had with the Federation of Small Businesses, the association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed, and a range of trade unions, including the Trades Union Congress.
But I must be honest and point out that in devising this scheme – in response to many calls for support – it is now much harder to justify the inconsistent contributions between people of different employment statuses.
If we all want to benefit equally from state support, we must all pay in equally in future.
These last ten days have shaken our country and economy as never before.
In the last two weeks we have put aside ideology and orthodoxy to mobilise the full power and resources of the British state.
We have done so in pursuit of a single goal: to protect people’s health and economic security, by supporting public services like our NHS, backing business, and protecting people’s jobs and incomes.
What we have done will, I believe, stand as one of the most significant economic interventions at any point in the history of the British state, and by any government, anywhere in the world. We have:
pledged that whatever resources the NHS needs, it will get
promised to pay 80% of the wages of furloughed workers for three months up to £2,500
deferred more than £30 billion of tax payments until the end of the year
agreed nearly 17,000 Time to Pay arrangements for businesses and individuals
made available £330 billion of loans and guarantees
introduced cash grants of up to £25,000 for small business properties
covered the cost of statutory sick pay for small businesses for up to two weeks
lifted the incomes of over four million households with a nearly £7 billion boost to the welfare system
agreed three-month mortgage holidays with lenders and nearly £1 billion more support for renters through the Local Housing Allowance
and today we’ve announced one of the most generous self-employed support schemes in the world
Despite these extraordinary steps, there will be challenging times ahead. We will not be able to protect every single job or save every single business.
But I am confident that the measures we have put in place will support millions of people, businesses and self-employed people to get through this, get through it together, and emerge on the other side both stronger and more united.
Thank you.
Below is the text of the statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 20 March 2020.
Good afternoon.
The economic intervention that I’m announcing today is unprecedented in the history of the British state.
Combined with our previous announcements on public services and business support, our planned economic response will be one of the most comprehensive in the world.
Let me speak directly to people’s concerns.
I know that people are worried about losing their jobs.
About not being able to pay the rent or the mortgage.
About not having enough set by for food and bills.
I know that some people in the last few days have already lost their jobs.
To all those at home right now, anxious about the days ahead, I say this: you will not face this alone.
But getting through this will require a collective national effort, with a role for everyone to play – people, businesses and government.
It’s on all of us.
To meet our commitment to that effort, I am today announcing a combination of measures unprecedented for a government of this nation.
Our Plan for People’s Jobs and Incomes, will: * Protect people’s jobs; * Offer more generous support to those who are without employment; * Strengthen the safety net for those who work for themselves; * And help people who stay in their homes.
The first part of our plan is to protect people’s jobs.
This week, the Government has taken unprecedented steps to fight the coronavirus.
We have closed schools. We have told people to stay at home to prevent the spread of infection. We are now closing restaurants and bars.
Those steps are necessary to save lives.
But we don’t do this lightly – we know those measures will have a significant economic impact.
I have a responsibility to make sure we protect, as far as possible, people’s jobs and incomes.
Today I can announce that, for the first time in our history, the government is going to step in and help to pay people’s wages.
We’re setting up a new Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Any employer in the country – small or large, charitable or non-profit – will be eligible for the scheme.
Employers will be able to contact HMRC for a grant to cover most of the wages of people who are not working but are furloughed and kept on payroll, rather than being laid off.
Government grants will cover 80% of the salary of retained workers up to a total of £2,500 a month – that’s above the median income.
And, of course, employers can top up salaries further if they choose to.
That means workers in any part of the UK can retain their job, even if their employer cannot afford to pay them, and be paid at least 80% of their salary.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will cover the cost of wages backdated to March 1st and will be open initially for at least three months – and I will extend the scheme for longer if necessary.
I am placing no limit on the amount of funding available for the scheme. We will pay grants to support as many jobs as necessary.
And can I put on record my thanks to the Trades Union Congress, the CBI and other business groups, for our constructive conversations.
We said we would stand together with the British people – and we meant it.
We have never had a scheme in our country like this before – and we’re having to build our systems from scratch.
I can assure you that HMRC are working night and day to get the scheme up and running and we expect the first grants to be paid within weeks – and we’re aiming to get it done before the end of April.
But I know that many businesses are hurting now.
I have already taken extraordinary measures to make cash available to businesses, through loans, grants and guarantees.
I can announce today that the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme will not be interest free, as previously planned, for 6 months – it will now be interest free for twelve months.
Thanks to the enormous efforts of our critical financial services sector, those loans will now be available starting on Monday.
And I will announce further measures next week, on top of those the Governor and I have already taken to ensure that larger and medium sized companies can also access the credit they need.
I’m also announcing today further cash flow support through the tax system.
To help businesses pay people and keep them in work, I am deferring the next quarter of VAT payments.
That means no business will pay any from now until the end of June; and you will have until the end of the financial year to repay those bills.
That is a direct injection of £30bn of cash to employers, equivalent to 1.5% of GDP.
Let me speak directly to businesses.
I know its tough out there.
We in government are doing everything we can to support you.
We’re paying people’s wages up to 80% so someone can be furloughed rather than laid off to protect their jobs.
We’re deferring £30bn of taxes until the end of the financial year.
We’re lending unlimited sums of money interest free for 12 months.
We’re abolishing business rates altogether this year if you are in hospitality, retail and leisure.
We’re providing cash grants of £25,000 for small business properties.
The Government is doing its best to stand behind you – and I am asking you to do your best, to stand behind our workers.
We’re launching in the coming days a major national advertising campaign to communicate the available support for businesses and people.
Please look very carefully at that support before making decisions to lay people off.
It’s on all of us.
We are starting a great national effort to protect jobs. But the truth is we are already seeing job losses. And there may be more to come.
I cannot promise you that no one will face hardship in the weeks ahead.
So we will also act to protect you if the worst happens.
To strengthen the safety net, I’m increasing today the Universal Credit standard allowance, for the next 12 months, by £1,000 a year.
For the next twelve months, I’m increasing the Working Tax Credit basic element by the same amount as well.
Together these measures will benefit over 4 million of our most vulnerable households.
And I’m strengthening the safety net for self-employed people too, by suspending the minimum income floor for everyone affected by the economic impacts of coronavirus.
That means every self-employed person can now access, in full, Universal Credit at a rate equivalent to Statutory Sick Pay for employees.
Taken together, I’m announcing nearly £7bn of extra support through the welfare system to strengthen the safety net and protect people’s incomes.
And to support the self-employed through the tax system, I’m announcing today that the next self-assessment payments will be deferred until January 2021.
As well as keeping people in work and supporting those who lose their jobs or work for themselves, our Plan for Jobs and Incomes will help keep a roof over your head.
We’ve acted already to make sure homeowners can get a three-month mortgage holiday if they need it.
I’m announcing today nearly £1bn of support for renters, by increasing the generosity of housing benefit and Universal Credit, so that the Local Housing Allowance will cover at least 30% of market rents in your area.
The actions I have taken today represent an unprecedented economic intervention to support the jobs and incomes of the British people.
A new, comprehensive job retention scheme.
And a significantly strengthened safety net.
Unprecedented measures, for unprecedented times.
Let me close with one final observation.
Now, more than any time in our recent history, we will be judged by our capacity for compassion.
Our ability to come through this,won’t just be down to what government or business can do, but by the individual acts of kindness we show one another.
The small business who does everything they can not to lay off their staff.
The student who does a shop for their elderly neighbour.
The retired nurse who volunteers to cover some shifts in their local hospital.
When this is over, and it will be over, we want to look back at this moment and remember the many small acts of kindness done by us and to us.
We want to look back this time and remember how we thought first of others and acted with decency.
We want to look back on this time and remember how, in the face of a generation-defining moment, we undertook a collective national effort – and we stood together.
It’s on all of us.
Thank you.
Below is the text of the speech made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the House of Commons on 17 March 2020. Contents of the speech were given outside of the Chamber of the House of Commons first, leading to a complaint by the Speaker of the House of Commons.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am grateful to you for allowing me to make this statement. Let me wholeheartedly apologise that I was not able to set out these measures to the House first. I can provide the reassurance that you requested and I hope that hon. and right hon. Members across the House understand that these are extraordinary circumstances.
I want to take the opportunity today to set out for the House the next stage of our economic plan in response to the coronavirus. The coronavirus pandemic is a public health emergency, but it is also an economic emergency. We have never, in peacetime, faced a fight of an economic nature like this. I know that people are deeply worried. I know that people’s anxiety about the disease itself is matched only by their anxiety about their livelihoods.
In the Budget last week, I set out the first stage of our economic response with a £30 billion package to support people and businesses. I promised to do whatever it takes to support our economy through this crisis and that, if the situation changed, I would not hesitate to take further action. As the Prime Minister set out yesterday, we are now approaching the fast-growth part of the upwards curve. He has set out the next stage of our public health response; I want to update the House on the next stage of our economic response.
Let me begin by setting out for the House our overarching economic strategy. People should know that the objective of our economic policy remains clear and our resolve remains firm: we will do whatever it takes to protect households and businesses to get through this, and to make sure that the effects do not become permanent. As we develop our strategy, not just today but over the coming days and weeks, we will be guided by three principles. First, our response must be comprehensive. This national effort will be underpinned by Government interventions in the economy on a scale unimaginable only a few weeks ago. This is not a time for ideology and orthodoxy. This is a time to be bold—a time for courage.
I want to reassure every British citizen that this Government will give you the tools you need to get through this. We will support jobs, we will support incomes, we will support businesses, and we will help protect your loved ones. We will do whatever it takes.
Secondly, our response must be co-ordinated. We in Government are working hand in glove with the wider economic authorities. Domestically, that includes the Bank of England, the regulators, and the health response. And internationally, I continue to engage with my G7 and G20 counterparts to agree and facilitate a global response.
Thirdly, our response must be coherent. It would be easy, at a time like this, to rush into a response and measures that we found out later had been ill-considered. The single most important test we in this House must set ourselves is to make sure that the actions we take will, in the lives of ordinary people and businesses, make a difference. To apply those principles in practice, we will use fiscal action to support public services, households and businesses. The Budget last week set out the first stage, including our commitment to provide the NHS with whatever it needs. In the coming days, I will take further steps, with a particular focus on supporting people and individuals.
In response to the updated medical advice yesterday, I can take three immediate steps today. First, the Government will stand behind businesses small and large. I can announce today an unprecedented package of Government-backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses to get through this. Today, I am making available an initial £330 billion of guarantees, equivalent to 15% of our GDP. That means any business that needs to access cash to pay its rent, salaries or suppliers will be able to access a Government-backed loan on attractive terms. If demand is greater than the initial £330 billion I am making available today, I will go further and provide as much capacity as required. I said whatever it takes, and I mean it.
That support will be delivered through two main schemes. To support liquidity among larger firms, I have today agreed a new lending facility with the Governor of the Bank of England to provide low-cost commercial paper. To support lending to small and medium-sized businesses, I am extending the new business interruption loan scheme I announced at the Budget last week so that rather than loans of up to £1.2 million, it will now provide loans of up to £5 million, with no interest due for the first six months. Both of those schemes will be up and running by the start of next week. I am also taking a new legal power in the covid Bill to offer whatever further financial support I decide is necessary.
Some sectors are facing particularly acute challenges. In the coming days, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport and I will discuss a specific potential support package for airlines and airports. Yesterday, I asked my Cabinet colleagues to urgently convene meetings over the coming days with business leaders and representatives in the most affected sectors to identify other specific opportunities to support them, including possible regulatory forbearance. I repeat: we will do whatever it takes.
Secondly, as well as access to finance, businesses need support with their cash flow and fixed costs. Following the changed medical advice yesterday, there are genuine concerns about the impact on pubs, clubs, theatres and other hospitality, leisure and retail venues. Let me confirm today that for those businesses that do have a policy that covers pandemics, the Government’s action is sufficient and will allow them to make an insurance claim against their policy. But many businesses do not have insurance, so we need to go further. I announced last week that businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with a rateable value of less than £51,000 will pay no business rates this year. Today, I can go further and provide those businesses with an additional cash grant of up to £25,000 per business to help bridge through this period.
Additionally, I am extending this business rates holiday to all businesses in those sectors, irrespective of their rateable value. That means that every single shop, pub, theatre, music venue and restaurant, and any other business in the retail, hospitality or leisure sector, will pay no business rates whatsoever for 12 months, and if they have a rateable value of less than £51,000, they will now get a cash grant as well. I also announced last week that we would be providing £3,000 grants to 700,000 of our smallest businesses. To support their cash flow in these exceptional circumstances, today I can increase those cash grants to £10,000.
Taken together, on top of the unlimited lending capacity I have already announced, that is a package of tax cuts and grants in this financial year to directly support businesses worth more than £20 billion. That comes on top of the existing multibillion-pound package I set out at Budget, which included reimbursing small and medium-sized companies for the cost of statutory sick pay. Local authorities in England will be fully compensated for the costs of these measures, and the devolved Administrations will receive at least £3.5 billion in additional funding as a result, to provide support to businesses in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. I repeat again: we will do whatever it takes.
Thirdly, I will strengthen our support for peoples and individuals. At Budget last week, I committed £1 billion to support the financial security of vulnerable people through a half-a-billion-pound boost to the welfare system and a half-a-billion-pound hardship fund for local authorities. Following discussions with industry, I can announce today that, for those in difficulty due to coronavirus, mortgage lenders will now offer a three-month mortgage holiday, so that people will not have to pay a penny towards their mortgage while they get back on their feet. In the coming days, I will go much further to support people’s financial security. In particular, I will work with trade unions and businesses to urgently develop new forms of employment support to help protect people’s jobs and incomes through this period.
Let no one doubt our resolve. When I said in the Budget last week that we will do everything we can to keep this country and our people healthy and financially secure, I meant it. The measures that I have announced today are part of a comprehensive, co-ordinated and coherent response to a serious and evolving economic situation. These are only the first steps, and I will set out the next stage of our response in the coming days. We have never faced an economic fight like this one, but we are well prepared. We will get through this, and we will do whatever it takes. I commend this statement to the House.
Below is the text of the statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 17 March 2020.
Good afternoon everyone.
The coronavirus pandemic is a public health emergency. But it is also an economic emergency. We have never, in peacetime, faced an economic fight like this one.
I know that people are deeply worried. I know that people’s anxiety about the disease itself is matched only by their anxiety about their livelihoods.
Last week, I set out an initial economic response in the Budget.
I promised to do whatever it takes to support our economy through this crisis – and that if the situation changed, I would not hesitate to take further action. That is what I want to begin doing today.
This struggle will not be overcome by a single package of measures, or isolated interventions. It will be won through a collective national effort. Every one of us, doing all we can to protect families, neighbours, friends, jobs.
This national effort will be underpinned by government interventions in the economy on a scale unimaginable only a few weeks ago. This is not a time for ideology and orthodoxy. This is a time to be bold. A time for courage.
I want to reassure every British citizen, this government will give you all the tools you need to get through this.
We will support jobs, we will support incomes, we will support businesses, and we will help you protect your loved ones. We will do whatever it takes.
In the Budget last week, I set out the first stage of our economic response with a £30 billion package of support for people and businesses.
But I also said in the Budget that as the situation evolves, we would take further action.
And as the Prime Minister set out yesterday, we’re now approaching the fast growth part of the upwards curve. He has set out the next stage of our public health response.
So I wanted to update everyone on the next stage of our economic response.
First, the government will stand behind businesses small and large.
I can announce today an unprecedented package of government-backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses to get through this.
Today, I am making available an initial £330 billion of guarantees – equivalent to 15% of our GDP.
That means any business who needs access to cash to pay their rent, the salaries, suppliers, or purchase stock, will be able to access a government-backed loan, on attractive terms.
And if demand is greater than the initial £330 billion I’m making available today, I will go further and provide as much capacity as required.
I said whatever it takes –and I meant it.
That support will be delivered through two main schemes:
to support liquidity amongst larger firms, I have today agreed a new lending facility with the Governor of the Bank of England to provide low cost, easily accessible commercial paper
to support lending to small and medium sized businesses, I am extending the new Business Interruption Loan Scheme I announced at the Budget last week, so that rather than loans of £1.2 million, it will now provide loans of up to £5 million, with no interest due for the first six months
Both of these schemes will be up and running by the start of next week.
And I am also taking a new legal power in the Covid Bill to offer whatever further financial support I decide is necessary.
Some sectors are facing particularly acute challenges. In the coming days, my colleague the Secretary of State for Transport and I will discuss a potential support package for specifically airlines and airports.
And yesterday, I asked my Cabinet colleagues to urgently convene meetings over the coming days with business leaders and representatives in the most affected sectors, to identify other specific opportunities to support them and their industries, including possible regulatory forbearance.
I repeat: we will do whatever it takes.
Second, as well as access to finance, businesses need support with their cashflow and fixed costs.
Following the changed medical advice yesterday, there are concerns about the impact on pubs, clubs, theatres and other hospitality, leisure and retail venues.
Let me confirm that, for those businesses which do have a policy that covers pandemics, the government’s action is sufficient and will allow businesses to make an insurance claim against their policy.
But many of those businesses don’t have insurance – so we will go further.
I announced last week that for businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, with a rateable value of less than £51,000, they will pay no business rates this year.
Today, I can go further and provide those businesses with an additional cash grant of up to £25,000 per business – to help bridge through this period.
Additionally, I also am today extending the business rates holiday to all businesses in those sectors, irrespective of their rateable value.
That means every single shop, pub, theatre, music venue, restaurant – and any other business in the retail, hospitality or leisure sector – will pay no business rates whatsoever for 12 months, and if they have a rateable value of less than £51,000, they can now get a cash grant as well.
I also announced last week that we would be providing £3,000 cash grants to the 700,000 of our smallest businesses.
In light of the new circumstances, and to support their cash flow, today I can increase those grants to £10,000.
Taken together, on top of the unlimited lending capacity I have already announced, this is a package of tax cuts and grants, in this financial year, worth more than £20 billion.
That comes on top of the existing multi-billion-pound package I set out at Budget, which included reimbursing small and medium sized companies for the cost of statutory sick pay.
Local authorities in England will be fully compensated for the costs of these measures, and the devolved administrations will receive at least £3.5 billion in additional funding as a result to provide support to businesses in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
I repeat again: we will do whatever it takes.
Third, I will strengthen our support for peoples and individuals.
At Budget last week, I committed £1 billion to support the financial security of vulnerable people, through a half billion boost to the welfare system, and a half billion pound Hardship Fund for Local Authorities.
Following discussions with industry today, I can announce that for those in difficulty due to coronavirus, mortgage lenders will offer at least a three month mortgage holiday – so that people will not have to pay a penny towards their mortgage while they get back on their feet.
And in the coming days, I will go much further to support people’s financial security. In particular, I will work with trade unions and business groups to urgently develop new forms of employment support to help protect people’s jobs and incomes through this period.
As I said last week, this is first and foremost a public health emergency. And I reiterate today our commitment that whatever resources the NHS needs, it will get.
Let no one doubt our resolve. When I said in the Budget that we will do everything we can to keep this country, and our people, healthy and financially secure – I meant it.
The measures I have announced today are part of a comprehensive, coordinated and coherent response to what is a serious and evolving economic situation.
These are only the first steps – I will set out the next stage of our response in the coming days.
We have never faced an economic fight like this one. But we are well prepared. We will get through this. And we will do whatever it takes.
Thank you.