Today the Chancellor has announced new measures to support people’s jobs and incomes:

a. A new Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The Government will provide grants that cover 80% of the salary of retained workers up to a total of £2,500 a month. The Scheme will be open initially for at least three months but will continue as long as needed. The HMRC will get the scheme up and running before the end of April.

b. The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, under which the Government provides a guarantee on 80% of loans up to £5mln, will be interest free for 12 months (was 6 months). Those loans will be available starting from next Monday.

c. VAT suspended for next quarter (almost £30bn): businesses will not pay any until the end of June and will have until the end of the financial year (march 2021) to pay the tax.

d. The next self-assessment payments for self-employed will be deferred until January 2021.

e. £1bn of support for renters, by increasing housing benefit and Universal Credit. The Local Housing Allowance will cover at least 30% of market rents.

f. Increase of Universal Credit standard allowance and of Working Tax Credit, for the next 12 months, by £1,000 a year. These measures will benefit over 4 million of households.

g. The minimum income floor for self-employed people affected by the economic impacts of coronavirus is suspended. The self-employed people can now access Universal Credit at a rate equivalent to Statutory Sick Pay for employees.