Coronavirus: Rishi Sunak announces further measures

Following the Government's initial response to the coronavirus response, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, today announced a package of £330bn (the equivalent to 15% of UK GDP) further help for businesses.

• The Government and Bank of England will launch a business interruption loan scheme will allow any business to access up to £5m (up from £1.2m as announced last week)
• Large firms will be offered liquidity support, with a new scheme being launched by the Bank of England to help them bridge Coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through supply of loans
• The Chancellor is being given legal power to take new extraordinary measures of economic intervention
• For airlines and airports and other greatly affected industries, a special package of measures will be launched in the coming days to support them
• For businesses with no insurance against pandemics (pandemics are not commonly covered in interruption insurance at present), cash grants of up to £25k will be available to any business worth up to £51k
• The business rates holiday previously offered to businesses with ratable value of £51 or less will be extended to all businesses
• Cash grants offered to small businesses of £3k will be increased to £10k
• Devolved administrations will receive at least £3.5bn to support their economies
• Mortgage lenders will now instigate a 3-month mortgage holiday

Rishi Sunak will outline further measures in regard to workers' pay in the coming days. The Chancellor says 'anything that is necessary' to help the economy will be done.