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Thursday, 05 Nov 2020 13:02 GMT
Covid-19 furlough scheme extended to end of March
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced that the government’s novel coronavirus (Covid-19) furlough scheme will be extended until the end of March 2021.
The government will continue to pay 80% of furloughed workers’ wages, up to £2,500 a month.
The scheme was originally due to end on October 31st, but this was extended to December 2nd after it was confirmed that England would enter a nationwide lockdown for at least a month from today (November 5th).
However, the government faced criticism from the devolved nations, with both Scotland and Wales calling for the scheme to be extended further should they opt to introduce longer national lockdowns.
The scheme will be reviewed again in January, with Sunak explaining that the government was keen to give businesses security during the winter.
“The security that we are providing will help to protect millions of jobs,” Sunak said when setting out the plans in parliament earlier today.
Confirmation of the extended scheme comes after the Bank of England said it would pump an additional £150bn into the economy to help with the Covid-19 recovery.
Some £40bn has been spent covering furloughed workers’ wages since the scheme was launched in March this year.
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