Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Rishi Sunak has announced details of COVID-19 financial support for businesses in all parts of the UK.
He has confirmed that workers will get access to the furlough scheme up to 80 per cent (capped at £2,500 a month) until the end of March 2021 across the UK. Employers need only cover NICs and pension contributions.
The upfront funding for devolved nations also goes from £14bn to £16bn.
This move comes just a few hours after the Bank of England said it was pumping an extra £150bn into the economy.
Sunak added that he will redeploy job incentive schemes at a more suitable time.
However, the chancellor has faced criticism for reintroducing the furlough scheme when Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and parts of northern England had harsher restrictions and didn’t receive such generous funding.
The Welsh government was unhappy when its pleas for more funding during their ‘firebreak’ lockdown last month. It had to rely on its own coffers to fund a £300m grant scheme.
Experts argue that such short-term measures aren’t helping businesses to plan for the future. Richard Churchill, a business advisory partner at Blick Rothenberg, said:
“Currently business decisions are inextricably linked to the various coronavirus measures in

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