Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) Update

On 4^th January 2021, the Government announce a lockdown that will effectively return England, and under the governance of other delegated authorities, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland to conditions that were in place in March 2020.

To complement the lockdown announcement, HMRC announced measures to support business and protect jobs on 5^th January 2021.

The terms are set out in the attachment set out below.

£4.6 billion in new lockdown grants to support businesses and protect jobs

The key terms of the support is as follows;

1. One-off grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses – the grant ranges between £4,000 - £9,000

2. £594m discretionary fund available to Local Authorities and Devolved Administrations to support businesses not eligible for grants that might be affected by the restrictions – businesses should apply to their local authority for more information

Comment

The January lockdown was inevitable given the health announcements and therefore the additional support to businesses and individuals, over and above existing funding, is very welcome.

The Government is currently focusing its efforts upon trying to stabilise the economy with support measures to protect the business community and employment.

The real test for the Government maybe well be how to stimulate the economy when the covid virus is under control.

At the present time, many businesses are almost exclusively reliant upon furlough funding to maintain their business structures. If the current support is removed and if demand takes time to return, this might have more impact in certain sectors of the economy. In such circumstances, long-term employment and the businesses within these sectors might be more vulnerable post covid than at present.

That said, there is little doubt that all of the measures to date are very welcome in their support of the UK economy and have been gratefully received by thousands of businesses and individuals alike.

If you need any further details please contact us at chris.cummings@ase-global.com.

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