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<p>Throughout the pandemic, the Government has sought to protect people’s jobs and
livelihoods while also supporting businesses and public services across the UK.</p><p>
</p><p>The Government put in place an economic package of support totalling £352 billion
through the furlough and self-employed income support schemes, support for businesses
through grants and loans, business rates and VAT relief.</p><p> </p><p>At the Budget,
the Chancellor announced a generous extension of economic support to reflect the easing
of restrictions and enable the private sector to bounce back as quickly as possible.
As the Chancellor put it in his Budget speech: “we’re going long, extending our support
well beyond the end of the Roadmap to accommodate even the most cautious view about
the time it might take to exit the restrictions”.</p><p> </p><p>The Recovery Loan
Scheme (RLS) announced at Budget 2021 ensures lenders continue to have the confidence
to lend, ensuring viable businesses, including small businesses, continue to have
access to Government-backed finance needed throughout 2021. The scheme launched on
6 April 2021, following the closure of the emergency schemes to new loan applications
on 31 March 2021, and will run until 31 December 2021. The scheme operates UK-wide,
providing an 80% guarantee to lenders for term loans, overdrafts, and invoice and
asset finance.</p><p> </p><p>At Budget, it was also announced that local authorities
in England will receive a top-up worth a total of £425m to the Additional Restrictions
Grant (ARG) fund. This, combined with the £1.6 billion previously allocated, means
local authorities will have received over £2bn of discretionary grant funding to support
businesses which are not eligible for Restart Grants but which are nonetheless experiencing
a severe impact on their business due to public health restrictions. Nearly half of
the £2bn is still with local authorities and yet to be allocated.</p><p> </p><p>The
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was introduced to help employers whose operations
have been severely affected by coronavirus to retain their employees and protect the
UK economy. All businesses across the UK can access the scheme, with employees receiving
80% of their usual salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month. At
Budget the government extended the CJRS until the end of September 2021, to support
businesses and employees through the next stage of the pandemic. The economy now is
in a stronger position than it was last autumn, when businesses also contributed up
to 20 per cent of wage costs.</p><p /><p>In line with the extension to the CJRS, the
government announced at Budget 2021 that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme
(SEISS) will continue until September, with a fourth and a final fifth grant. This
provides certainty to business as the economy reopens and means the SEISS will continue
to be one of the most generous schemes for the self-employed in the world.</p><p>
</p><p>To further support small businesses to prosper after Covid, and improve their
growth, productivity and resilience, the government is introducing the £520m Help
to Grow programme. Announced at Spring Budget, Help to Grow will support over 100k
SMEs to improve their management practices through world-class training delivering
through UK’s leading business schools, and digital adoption through a new online platform
and voucher. Eligible businesses will be able to get 50% off the costs of pre-approved
software up to £5,000.</p><p> </p><p>As restrictions have been lifted, it is right
that we ask employers to contribute more to strike the balance between supporting
the economy as it opens up, continuing to provide support and protect incomes, and
ensuring incentives are in place to get people back to work.</p>
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