More than half of UK adults are being paid by the government

More than half of British adults now receive money from the state, emerged today when Chancellor Rishi Sunak warned that the situation “is not sustainable.”

The scale of the impact of the coronavirus blockade is becoming clearer after the government revealed that it is subsidizing the wages of 6.3 million workers under its licensing scheme.

Meanwhile, more than 1.8 million new universal credit claims have been received as people find their incomes cut by the crisis.

Taking the unemployed, 5.4 million public sector workers and 12 million pensioners into account, the state now pays just over half of the UK’s 52 million adults.

In an interview last night, Sunak tried to reassure workers and companies that they will not face an “abrupt edge” of subsidies that will be withdrawn immediately when the blockade measures are eased.

But amid signs of tensions within the government about the enormous burden on the country’s finances, Sunak noted that the licensing plan could cost the same as the NHS budget.

“I am working, as we speak, to discover the most effective way to reduce the scheme (license) and make it easier for people to return to work in a measured way,” he told ITV.

‘As some scenarios have suggested, we are potentially spending as much on the licensing scheme as we do on the NHS, for example. That is clearly not a sustainable situation. ‘

The blockade is estimated to be removing £ 2 trillion a day from UK GDP, destroying millions of jobs, and the government hopes to borrow up to £ 270 trillion this year.

As a result, pressure increases on the Government to find a way to get out of the confinement.

Boris Johnson is expected to reveal a ‘road map’ to ease the draconian curves on Sunday, but there appears to be little chance of considerable relaxation before the end of the month.

Under the license bailout, employers affected by the coronavirus are entitled to claim money from taxpayers to pay 80 percent of each staff member’s wages, with a limit of £ 2,500 per month.

The scheme is designed to prevent companies from having to permanently lay off staff as companies stop due to the pandemic. Workers without permission cannot work for your company.

Downing Street said yesterday: ‘Since launch [on April 20], 800,000 employers have used the job retention scheme to obtain 6.3 million jobs. That is a total value of £ 8 billion.

The NHS budget is currently worth approximately £ 11 billion a month.

The leave plan was originally established to cover the salaries of the temporarily laid off staff until the end of May, but was then extended by one month.

Secretary of Labor and Pensions Therese Coffey also gave an update yesterday on UC claims.

“From March 16 to the end of April, we have received more than 1.8 million claims by Universal Credit, more than 250,000 job search subsidy claims and more than 20,000 employment and support subsidy claims,” ​​he said.

‘In general, this is six times the volume that we would normally experience and in one week we had a tenfold increase.

“UC’s claims rate appears to have stabilized at around 20,000 to 25,000 per day, which is double the standard week prior to Covid-19.”

The minister said his department had issued nearly 700,000 advances to claimants who felt they could not wait for their routine payment.

She said the vast majority of these received money within 72 hours. Applicants for benefits and UC were told in March that they will face no sanctions for three months if they do not seek work because of the crisis.

But Miss Coffey urged them yesterday to “continue looking for work wherever they can do it.”

A new website has been created to advertise job opportunities: jobhelp.dwp.gov.uk.

It currently has 58,200 vacancies.

The surprising cost of the licensing plan and UC’s additional claims show just how badly the economy has been hit by the coronavirus crisis.

Strict rules of social distancing have meant that most stores have been forced to close, along with bars and restaurants.

Many other companies have been affected, forcing employers to request government bailouts to prevent workers from being fired.

Analysis in The Daily Telegraph suggested that about 27 million adults, about 53 percent of the total, now receive some form of government financial assistance.

The figure is made up of workers without permission, people claiming benefits, retirees and public sector workers.

Former Chancellor Tory Lord Lamont of Lerwick told the Telegraph: “It is neither practical nor affordable for the state to pay people not to work; ultimately, the government only has the money it gets from people’s taxes. that create wealth. ”

‘It is not a sustainable position, except in the short term.

“It illustrates the danger and precariousness of our situation.”

The high cost of the scheme increases the possibility of post-crisis tax increases to pay for the brochures.

Labor has warned that the wealthiest will have to shoulder most of the burden.

The latest statistics came when Tory MPs urged Johnson to end the coronavirus blockade as soon as possible.

Conservative MP Sir Charles Walker (Broxbourne) said in a debate in the House of Commons last night that not doing so would “unleash a tidal wave of human misery” due to the number of companies likely to close permanently.

He added: “I think we need to have a frank, open and honest debate on the ethics of exchanging lives tomorrow to save lives today.”

Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Tories Backies Committee, echoed a similar sentiment by saying: “ I hope that as ministers approach the second 21-day review they always do so with a view to removing restrictions. and remove these arbitrary rules and limitations on freedom as quickly as possible. “

He added: “It will be even more important that we rely on common sense and voluntary cooperation rather than arbitrary rules.”