Rishi Sunak is set to lay out his plan for supporting workers and businesses through the second wave of the pandemic following mounting pressure to extend the furlough scheme.
The Chancellor will give a statement to the House of Commons tomorrow on how the Government intends to protect jobs this winter.
However, the autumn budget which typically lays out long-term goals for the economy around November time each year has been shelved due to fresh coronavirus uncertainty.
Mr Sunak had been expected to deliver his second budget of 2020 within the next few weeks following pressure to reveal how he plans to bail the economy out of the Covid-19 recession that has already put around 700,000 people out of work.
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He was was reportedly hoping to use it to set out plans for major investment in infrastructure and to drive Boris Johnson’s ‘levelling up’ agenda.
His plans were blown off course by the rapid rise of coronavirus cases which have forced new restrictions including a 10pm curfew on pubs and a U-turn on the back-to-the office drive.
With ministers unable to rule out a second national lockdown, the Chancellor is focusing on contingency plans to get the Uk through a potential six months of curbs on social and economic activity.
The original scheme was launched in March and allowed struggling employers to put staff on leave and apply for the Treasury to pay 80% of their wages, up to £2,500 a month.
The 52 billion pound scheme has gradually been wound down and was set to come to and end in October. It supported 8.9 million jobs at its peak in May and was still paying most of the wages of around 5 million Britons at the end of July.
Sunak has repeatedly ruled out a wholesale extension of the programme – which is due to close sooner than its equivalents in other countries – but has come under pressure to find other options as rising COVID-19 cases have derailed recovery.
Mr Sunak is said to be looking at topping up underemployed workers’ wages rather than taking a sector-by-sector approach.
‘As our response to coronavirus adapts, tomorrow afternoon I will update the House of Commons on our plans to continue protecting jobs through the winter,’ Sunak said.
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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiWGh0dHBzOi8vbWV0cm8uY28udWsvMjAyMC8wOS8yMy9mdXJsb3VnaC1zY2hlbWUtcmlzaGktc3VuYWstdWstYnVkZ2V0LWNhbmNlbGxlZC0xMzMxNTgwMi_SAVxodHRwczovL21ldHJvLmNvLnVrLzIwMjAvMDkvMjMvZnVybG91Z2gtc2NoZW1lLXJpc2hpLXN1bmFrLXVrLWJ1ZGdldC1jYW5jZWxsZWQtMTMzMTU4MDIvYW1wLw?oc=5
2020-09-23 15:33:00Z
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