Millions of Rishi Sunak lockdown: Chancellor prepares bailout deal for companies

Rishi Sunak will launch a new rescue package today to help companies affected by Covid restrictions retain their staff.

The Chancellor will update MPs this morning on a package that will cost hundreds of millions of pounds to help companies in sectors such as hospitality, which have been severely affected by the new restrictions this month.

It is expected to extend subsidies and wage subsidies to companies in Level Two areas, such as London, that are not legally required to close, and therefore are not eligible for support, but have closed because staying open is not commercially viable.

Mr Sunak prepared to dig deep into the Treasury coffers, as figures showed that the government has borrowed more than a billion pounds every day during the pandemic.

Data from the Office for National Statistics revealed that ministers have borrowed £ 208bn during the six months since April, which is equivalent to around £ 1.14bn a day.

Efforts to re-control government spending have been thwarted by a second wave of coronavirus that has seen more than half the population mired in local lockdowns.

Ministers announced yesterday that South Yorkshire would move to the main Level Three restrictions over the weekend.

Talks to place Nottinghamshire in the “very high risk” category are said to be nearing completion.

With Merseyside and Lancashire already at Level Three, and Greater Manchester set to enter just after midnight tonight, eight million people could be living under the most severe restrictions by the weekend.

Ministers are also in talks with West Yorkshire to enter Level Three. But the Northeast and Teesside received a respite yesterday after a “slight” drop in the Covid rate.

As the Chancellor prepared to invest more money in the beleaguered UK PLC:

• Rishi Sunak Will Launch Rescue Package Today To Help Businesses Affected By Covid Restrictions Retain Their Staff;
• South Yorkshire agreed to a deal to move to Level Three from Saturday, which means 7.3 million in England will live under the strictest Covid rules;
• Talks to place Nottinghamshire in the “very high risk” category were said to be nearing completion;
• Boris Johnson tried to elude Andy Burnham by offering £ 60 million of coronavirus aid directly to city councils in Greater Manchester;
• Economists warned that the lockdowns were killing more people than they “could possibly save”;
• Labor’s Angela Rayner was forced to apologize after she called a Conservative MP “scum” during a Covid-19 debate;
• Yesterday 191 more deaths from coronavirus were reported, with a record number of 26,688 daily cases;
• Hospitals stepped up canceling routine surgeries and non-Covid appointments amid spike in virus admissions;
• A government adviser suggested that a vaccine could be here at the end of winter;
• Scotland Yard agreed to withdraw a letter urging pubs and restaurants to snoop on their customers;
• Prince William spoke of the ‘unimaginable challenges’ facing cancer patients as a result of the coronavirus;
• The former civil service chief said goodbye to Dominic Cummings during his lockdown trip to Durham;
• The national debt has soared to the highest level in 60 years;
• A major report warned that Covid-19 should not be used as an excuse to delay social care reform;
• Four university students were fined £ 10,000 each and suspended from their courses for hosting a house party.

Companies forced to close at Level Three, such as sportsbooks and soft-play centers, can already lay off their workers with two-thirds of their wages.

But there has been an outcry from hotel companies on Level Two, whose business models have been ruined by restrictions that mean people can no longer meet socially indoors.

Level two restrictions now cover many of the most densely populated parts of the country, including London, Birmingham, York, Essex, and the North East.

Mr. Sunak’s intervention is expected to reduce the costs faced by employers who want to keep part-time workers.

The Chancellor was finalizing plans last night to ‘modify’ the existing Work Support Plan, which offers help to employers who can keep staff for at least a third of their hours.

Under the existing plan, staff salaries can exceed 77 percent of normal.

The state and the employer each fund 50 percent of the cost of the hours not worked. But critics have warned that the scheme offers little incentive for companies to retain staff.

Today Sunak is expected to reduce the cost of the employer contribution, with the state taking over a larger portion of the bill.

Treasury sources were silent on the precise details of the new scheme last night.

But any adjustment to the employer contribution is likely to mean a big bill to the taxpayer.

The Treasury has modeled between two and five million people who accepted the support at a cost of approximately £ 300 million a month, a total cost of up to £ 9 billion over six months.

Downing Street hinted at the move yesterday, and the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “We recognize that companies operating at level two will face difficulties due to reduced demand.”

Another proposal on the table is to broaden the criteria of the Employment Support Plan to include companies forced to close “due to circumstances” and not by law, according to the Telegraph.

Cash grant payments to worst hit companies of up to £ 3,000 a month could also be awarded to companies that are not legally required to close but have closed because opening is commercially unviable.

Sunak has come under increasing pressure to shore up support for jobs after liquidating the licensing plan this month.

South Yorkshire became the latest region to enter Tier Three yesterday after ministers agreed on a £ 41 million funding package.

Sheffield City Region Labor Mayor Dan Jarvis said: ‘The number of people with Covid in our hospitals has doubled in the last ten days, with no signs that this will subside in the coming weeks. Inaction was not an option. ‘

Jarvis appeared to attack Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who opposed a deal with ministers, saying South Yorkshire had “ taken the responsible route to ensure that we save lives and livelihoods, and protect our NHS. ”

He added: “I honestly don’t think I could have gotten more money from the government.”

But other top figures in the region asked for more financial help. Louise Haigh, a Sheffield Heeley MP and shadow cabinet minister, said ministers were “treating the North with contempt.”

In South Yorkshire, case rates range from 285 people per 100,000 in Doncaster to 402 people per 100,000 in Sheffield, authorities said.

But Downing Street said talks to move the Northeast and Teesside to Level Three had been “paused” following a decline in the Covid rate.

There were 276.1 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in the Northeast during the week through Oct. 16, up from 316.6 the week before.

Government sources downplayed reports that medical director Professor Chris Whitty is drawing up plans for a series of regional ‘circuit breakers’ next month, with even more stringent restrictions.

Pubs and restaurants in much of Scotland will be closed for another week, Nicola Sturgeon said yesterday.

The Prime Minister said that the restrictions introduced in early October, which were to last two weeks, would continue for a third week.

The announcement follows that 1,739 positive tests have been reported in the last 24 hours and 28 deaths.

Ms Sturgeon added that a new five-tier system of regional restrictions would be introduced on 2 November for Scotland.