Chancellor extends support for business
Rishi Sunak has today announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which was due to finish on 31st March 2021 with a review of the Government’s contribution to the Scheme to take place in January, will be extended to 30th April 2021 and the Government contribution will continue to be 80%, capped at £2,500 per month.
Access to the existing Bounce Back Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme had been due to close at the end of January, but this has now been extended until the end of March 2021.
These changes come ahead of the Budget, which the Chancellor has confirmed will take place on 3rd March 2021. The Chancellor will use the Budget to deliver the next phase of the plan to tackle the virus and protect jobs, so the extensions to the business loan and CJRS should enable businesses to plan for the first few months of the New Year.
Commentators expect an announcement soon on the
support for businesses under the Self Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS),
which is due to run until 30th April 2021.
The grants for the 3 months to 31st January 2021 are now being
claimed at 80% of average trading profits, capped at £7,500, but no
announcement has been made on the level of support for the grant in the New
Year. However, as the CJRS remains at 80%, it is presumed reasonable to
expect that the SEISS grant will continue to do so too.