Support for millions of workers

Chancellor to unveil direct protection from the economic fallout of pandemic

THE Government will offer unprecedented support for millions of workers to help Britons hit by the coronavirus crisis under radical plans to be unveiled by the Chancellor today.

Two measures under discussion include subsidising wages by freezing income tax payments during the crisis and giving National Insurance tax breaks.

Rishi Sunak, who is putting the finishing touches to the package, has been in discussions to pay workers a weekly subsidy in what would be the biggest intervention by the state in the economy since the Second World War.

It comes as officials were drawing up plans to impose further restrictions on movements in London if people continue to ignore government pleas to stay at home, which could see thousands of businesses shut down.

Mr Sunak is expected to give companies and the self-employed a National Insurance holiday after the Government published legislation allowing him to do so.

The Chancellor will set out the measures at a press conference with Boris Johnson this afternoon, after the Prime Minister urged businesses to “stand by your employees because we will stand by you”.

Mr Johnson also said it was likely to take 12 weeks to “turn the tide” of the crisis, and suggested life may still not be back to normal by the summer.

The Prime Minister said: “I want to say something about the timescale. I think we can turn the tide within the next 12 weeks and I’m absolutely confident that we can send coronavirus packing in this country – but only if we all take the steps we have outlined.”

He also suggested the Government could soon be testing 250,000 people per day for the virus, up from fewer than 10,000.

It came as the Queen issued a message, saying: “Our nation’s history has been forged by people and communities coming together to work as one, concentrating our combined efforts with a focus on the common goal.”

James Heappey, the minister for the Armed Forces, established the legal framework for allowing reservists to be used to bolster the 20,000 soldiers already on standby to provide vital support to the police, NHS and other public services.

There were more chaotic scenes at supermarkets, with fights breaking out in queues and staff complaining about being abused as panic-buying caused tempers to flare.

There was also fresh concern over school exam grades as parents and students awaited clarification over how qualifications will be awarded and universities warned that the admission system should not have to rely on predicted grades.

Italy’s death toll overtook China’s as the number of deaths in Britain from the virus rose to 144, with confirmed cases up to 3,269.

The Church of England, which has already banned regular services, recommended that weddings should be attended by just five people – bride, groom, minister and two witnesses.

The Bank of England made its second emergency intervention in days as it cut interest rates to 0.1 per cent – the lowest since the Bank was founded in 1694 – and pumped £200 billion of cash into the economy.

Mr Sunak met business groups and trade unions yesterday, which urged him to “pause” a range of taxes, including National Insurance, income tax and VAT, some payments for which are due shortly.

A source close to the discussions said: “Businesses may be told – you don’t have to pay income tax for X amount of time.”

It would effectively leave the Government picking up some or all of the wage bills for companies that keep staff on during the crisis as, by freezing income tax, companies would still be able to give employees the same amount of take-home pay but would save money by sending less to the Treasury.

Last night, the Prime Minister said the Government has learnt from the criticism of the 2008 bank bailouts and added: “This time we’re going to make sure that we look after the people who really suffer from the economic consequences of what we’re asking them to do, and we’ll be directing our support to them, looking after the people first.”

A source at the meeting said other measures discussed included “the use of National Insurance contributions and income support schemes”.

Meanwhile, a think tank called for a maternity pay-style system for workers sent home as a way to avoid mass redundancies.

The Resolution Foundation said the Government should fund businesses to put staff on paid leave with two-thirds of their normal salary for six months to “prevent mass job losses”.