COVID-19: Government action

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced an updated Government response in view of the ongoing situation and different level of medical advice given in recent days. The salient points are summarised as follows:

• Business loans of up to £5m - up from £1.2m - available from next week, with no interest payable for the first 6 months

• No business rates whatsoever for retail, hospitality and leisure sector for the next 12 months

• Cash grants of up to £25k available for retail, hospitality and leisure sector, applicable to those with a rateable value of less than £51k

• Cash grants of up to £10k - up from £3k - available for 700,000 of the UK’s smallest businesses

• Mortgage lenders to provide a three-month repayment holiday period

• Changes to IR35 legislation delayed for one year until 6 April 2021