What is currently available to help?
We understand that some of the biggest difficulties in the next few weeks, and maybe even months, will be the loss of social interaction.
The crisis is reaching into every aspect of our lives, and in what would normally take years, the Chancellor has set out a package of temporary, timely and targeted measures to help provide wealth support for millions, including:
- a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme;
- deferring VAT and Self-Assessment payments;
- a Self-employment Income Support Scheme;
- a Statutory Sick Pay relief package for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs);
- a 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality, leisure and nursery businesses in England;
- small business grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief;
- grant funding of £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000;
- the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank;
- a new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms, helping them bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans;
- the HMRC Time To Pay Scheme.