Chris Whitty: Social distancing measures likely in place until next year April 22, 2020 There is only an “incredibly small probability” of a coronavirus vaccine being available for public use or a full lifting of social distancing restrictions in the next calendar year, according to the UK’s chief medical officer. Professor Chris Whitty said at today’s Covid-19 press conference that Britons should be prepared for some form of social [...]
UK banks slammed by Tory backbencher for not acting in national interest April 22, 2020 The UK’s banking sector has been criticised for not working in the national interest as some banks move to rapidly raise overdraft interest fees. Tory backbencher Peter Bone slammed the nation’s banks at today’s Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) for hiking interest rates on overdrafts while many struggle during the coronavirus crisis. Some banks have increased [...]
Exclusive: Growing divide in Boris Johnson’s Brexit unit over trade deal extension April 22, 2020 There is a growing divide in opinion within the government’s Brexit trade deal negotiating unit over whether to seek an extension to the 31 December deadline during the coronavirus crisis. Civil servants are increasingly frustrated that the government refuses to countenance the idea of an extension, while political appointees are keen to press home the [...]
Dominic Raab quashes universal basic income proposal April 22, 2020 Dominic Raab has said the government will not consider a proposal put forward by 100 opposition MPs that calls for a universal basic income. Raab, speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions in replacement of Boris Johnson, said he “doesn’t agree” that the government should hand out universal income during the Covid-19 crisis. “The chancellor has quite [...]
Oxford University’s coronavirus vaccine trials to start Thursday April 21, 2020 A potential coronavirus vaccine being developed at Oxford University will have its first trials on Thursday after receiving £20m in government funding. Health secretary Matt Hancock announced today that the government was funding the trial, along with another out of Imperial College which has been given £22.5m. Hancock said the two teams were “two of [...]
Furloughed hospitality workers could lose ‘up to 40 per cent’ of wages April 21, 2020 Businesses are seeking legal advice over the government’s job retention scheme amidst fears that millions of furloughed hospitality workers could be denied large chunks of their wages. The scheme – which sees the government pays 80 per cent of wages up to £2,500 a month to furloughed workers – was rolled out yesterday, with 185,000 [...]
Applications worth £1.5bn now made to coronavirus job retention scheme April 21, 2020 A further 45,000 businesses and 300,000 employees have registered for the government’s wage subsidy scheme, according to the Treasury. A Treasury spokesman said today that 185,000 businesses with 1.3m employees had applied for the job retention scheme as of midnight last night. The total amount this covers would be £1.5bn, however the spokesman said that [...]
Downing Street stands by 100,000 daily coronavirus tests target April 21, 2020 Downing Street has stood by its target of administering 100,000 coronavirus tests per day by the end of the month, despite having capacity to carry out less than half of that. With just nine days left in the month, there is testing capacity to carry out just 39,250 tests a day. Just 19,316 tests were [...]
More than £6bn of coronavirus grants given to English businesses April 21, 2020 More than £6bn of business grants have been distributed to English small and medium sized businesses through the government’s coronavirus grant schemes. A total of 491,725 grants, worth £6.11bn, have been distributed out of a pot of £12.3bn as of last night, translating into a 49.58 per cent delivery rate. Grants of £10,000 are available to [...]
Polling shows three-in-four people want post-coronavirus tax cuts April 20, 2020 Almost three-in-four people want to see tax cuts to reboot the economy after the coronavirus crisis, according to new polling. A poll by Survation/Adam Smith Institute showed there was overwhelming support, 72 per cent of people, for a reduction in taxes to “try and increase economic growth and jobs”, particularly among younger adults. Of those [...]
