Peter Kay voice: “Who remembers ‘Eat Out To Help Out’? What were that all about?”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has revealed plans for a brand new £280 billion financial support package, as the government tries to combat the ongoing economic impact of coronavirus.
In accompaniment to the new plans, Sunak stated:
“There’s no denying the next few weeks are going to be difficult. But the end is in sight. That’s why we’ve redoubled our efforts to protect businesses, jobs and incomes.”
Numerous furlough schemes were implemented after the first lockdown in March 2020. Now, with the third set of nation-wide restrictions coming into force, plans have been drawn up for further financial measures.
Furlough is not mentioned, though it has been extended until April 2021.
There's no denying the next few weeks are going to be difficult.
But the end is in sight.
That’s why we’ve redoubled our efforts to protect businesses, jobs and incomes. #PlanForJobs https://t.co/bGr9V9Pbe9 pic.twitter.com/4YLTDlwGPO
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) January 8, 2021
As part of the £280 billion package, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has put forward a number of plans, including:
- 100% business rates relief
- Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
- Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
- Self Employment Income Support Scheme
- Bounce Back Loan Scheme
- Future Fund VAT deferrals and enhanced Time To Pay
- Business grants worth up to £3,000 per month
- £1,000 increase to Universal Credit and Hardship Fund for council tax
- One-off grants of 9,000 for closed businesses
- £500 self-isolation compliance payments
- Initial business grants worth up to £25,000
- Over £3bn of support for local authorities in 2021
- Support for apprenticeships
- £1.57 billion culture recovery fund
- Public health funding for contact tracing, test and trace and public health communication
- Extra £1,000 winter grant for wet-led pubs
- Statutory sick pay rebates
- £500m for local authorities to support local businesses in England
Rishi Sunak has come under fire in recent months after the ‘Eat Out To Help Out’ scheme was linked to a rise in coronavirus cases.
Research conducted by the University of Warwick shows that a sharp increase of infection clusters emerged just a week after the campaign began.
Eat Out to Help Out was championed by Sunak as a financial incentive for people to return to bars and restaurants as a way of kickstarting the economy by subsidising meals by 50 per cent between Mondays and Wednesdays.
Research discovered that between 8% and 17% of newly detected infection clusters could be linked to the scheme.
Links between the scheme and a rise in cases are strengthened by data showing that the areas that suffered a high increase in infections also saw them go down the week after the scheme came to an end.
