Sunak’s £4.6bn help for firms in shutdown

the Chancellor hinted yesterday that the furlough scheme could be extended again as he unveiled another £4.6billion bailout for firms ordered to close during lockdown.

Rishi Sunak said shops, pubs, restaurants and hotels will get one-off grants of up to £9,000 to help keep afloat as the nation awaits the rollout of the vaccine.

Announcing the aid, Mr Sunak said: ‘this will help businesses to get through the months ahead – and crucially it will help sustain jobs, so workers can be ready to return when they are able to reopen.’

the latest package comes on top of the near-£280billion worth of economic support already promised. Mr Sunak said he will decide at the Budget on March 3 whether to extend beyond April the hugely expensive furlough scheme covering up to 80 per cent of workers’ wages,

‘Get through the months ahead’

as well as business rates relief. each premises will be entitled to a one- off grant of up to £9,000. Payments will be based on the size of each store, pub, cafe or hotel and tied to business rates typically paid by each business.

the smallest sites will be able to claim up to £4,000 and medium ones £6,000.

the Chancellor told Sky News: ‘We’ll have a Budget in early March, where we’ll take stock of all the various support that we’ve put in place, including today’s announcement of cash grants, and then review and set out the next stage of our economic response to coronavirus at that point.’ But CBI (Confederation of British Industry) chief economist Rain Newton-Smith said: ‘extending the job retention scheme to end of [June] would provide firms with a clear line of sight, aiding planning and investment.’