Today the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced further measures to support businesses through this unprecedented time.
At the Budget last week, the Chancellor set out the first stage of the government's response to tackle Coronavirus with a £30 billion package of support for people and businesses with a promise to do whatever it takes to support our economy through this crisis.Today, he has announced a further unprecedented package of government-backed loans and guarantees to support business.
The government will make available an initial £330 billion of guarantees – equivalent to 15 per cent of our GDP – so any businesses who need access to cash to pay their rent, the salaries of employees, pay suppliers or purchase stock, will be able to access a government-backed loan. The government will also provide tax cuts for British businesses worth nearly £20 billion.
Furthermore, the government is scrapping business rates for hospitality, leisure and retail sectors for 12 months and is supporting self-employed people and businesses through HMRC's Time to Pay services. There will be a Hardship Fund for local authorities to administer and a three month payment holiday for mortgages.
Richard said: "We have never faced an economic fight like this one but we are well prepared. We will do whatever it takes and we will get through this. These schemes will be up and running by next week. This is a quickly changing situation and Ministers continue to prepare packages of support to help employees, renters, the health service and more. Further announcements will be made tomorrow."
The Chancellor's full statement today can be found here.
