Coronavirus / Covid-19 - Chancellor's Update: 20 March

To conclude what has been a busy day in respect of changing and developing legislation, the Chancellor this evening outlined some of the most radical and unprecedented financial support measures we’ve ever seen in an attempt to mitigate the economic impact of Covid-19.

As with previous ‘breaking’ updates the details around implementation, timing and mechanics of the measures are yet to be announced and we will of course provide greater detail as and when we know more.

In the meantime however we thought it would be useful to summarise the key points from Mr Sunak’s somewhat ground-breaking announcement this evening:

• Government grants will be made available to cover 80% of the salary cost for any employees temporarily stood down as a result of Covid-19, applicable to gross monthly wages up to £2,500 per month per employee. This can be backdated to 1 March and will apply for an initial period of 3 months, with scope to extend if required.
• The interest-free period of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme we reported on earlier is to be extended from 6 months to 12 months.
• The next quarter of VAT payments are to be deferred such that no business is to pay any VAT liability until 1 July, representing a £30bn injection into the economy.
• Self-assessment payments due 31 July 2020 are to be deferred until 31 January 2021.
• Universal Credit available to self-employed individuals will be set at a level equivalent to Statutory Sick Pay for employees.

If you have any questions regarding this or anything else please get in touch, and for regular updates, announcements and news make sure you’re following our LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dsa-prospect-ltd