Business minister searching for ways to protect businesses which pay using dividends April 15, 2020 Business minister Paul Scully is trying to find ways of protecting business owners who pay themselves through dividends during the coronavirus crisis. Such businesses are currently not covered by the Treasury aid programmes. The Financial Times reported that Scully, whose portfolio covers the UK’s small businesses, is looking for solutions to cover such firms. Chancellor [...]
Coronavirus furlough scheme extended to allow for more wage subsidies April 15, 2020 The government’s coronavirus furlough scheme has been extended to ensure thousands of more employees are eligible for wage subsidies. The Treasury announced today that the eligibility date has been extended to 19 March from 28 February. The Job Retention Scheme sees the government pay out 80 per cent of wages, up to £2,500 a month, [...]
Scottish government does U-turn on coronavirus business grant scheme April 15, 2020 The Scottish government has changed its coronavirus business grant scheme to make it more generous for hospitality, retail and tourism chains after mounting criticism from the private sector. SNP finance minister Kate Forbes unveiled £220m of new grants today in a bid to close the gap between relief available for Scottish and English businesses. English [...]
Lending through UK coronavirus scheme hits £1.1bn after three weeks April 15, 2020 The UK’s coronavirus business loan scheme has picked up after firms complained it was not working, with £1.1bn lent out to 6,020 small and medium-sized companies as of yesterday. Banking body UK Finance today said total lending under the scheme has grown by £700m in the last week after criticism of the programme led the [...]
UK coronavirus lockdown: Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer pushes for exit strategy April 15, 2020 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for transparency over when UK coronavirus lockdown measures will ease, as the government faces pressure over its care homes strategy. Starmer’s party will back the government’s likely extension of the coronavirus lockdown tomorrow. But he has said “there needs to be transparency” over how long the measures will [...]
Businesses still struggling to access coronavirus loan scheme, says BCC April 15, 2020 Only two per cent of businesses have successfully managed to access the government’s coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS), according to a survey published today. Nine per cent of respondents to the survey by the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) said they were unsuccessful with slow or no response from lenders the main reason cited. [...]
Coronavirus: Vital to start planning for economic recovery, CBI says April 14, 2020 The head of the UK’s largest business lobbying group has said that the UK must begin to plan its economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic even while the death toll continues to rise. Speaking to Sky News, Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, the director-general of the CBI, said that “we need to begin to chart a route [...]
Coronavirus: New York hospitalisations fall for the first time April 14, 2020 The number of patients hospitalised with coronavirus in New York fell for the first time today, leading to hopes that the virus may have reached its peak in the state. New York governor Andrew Cuomo said that total of 18,697 people were hospitalized across the state, down from 18,825 a day earlier and the first [...]
Rishi Sunak says there is ‘no trade off’ between economy and public health April 14, 2020 Rishi Sunak has said there is no trade-off between public health and the economy in the wake of new estimates suggesting GDP will drop by 35 per cent this quarter. Speaking at today’s press briefing, the chancellor said the coronavirus lockdown was necessary to protect the long-term future of the economy. This is in contrast [...]
‘Unfair’ Covid-19 business grant scheme means more Scottish firms could go under April 14, 2020 Concerns are growing among Scottish businesses that the SNP government’s failure to match Westminster’s coronavirus economic support will force a string of retail and hospitality chains to go bust. English hospitality, tourism and leisure chains have been offered government grants of up to £25,000 per property, as long as the building’s rateable value is less [...]