The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has announced that the Government have made the decision to extend the furlough scheme until 30 April 2021. This will create certainty for millions of jobs and businesses into the new year as the government will continue to contribute 80% towards wages to employee’s pay.
Mr Sunak also confirmed that in order to ensure firms can access the support they need through continuing economic disruption, government-guaranteed Covid-19 business loan schemes will be extended until the end of March 2021. This includes the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which had initially been due to expire at the end of January.
The changes come ahead of the Budget review which is due to take place 3 March 2021, in which the next phase of the Covid-19 and job protection plan will be announced.
You can read the full announcement here on the gov.uk website.
Take a look at our guides and help sheets for more information on the schemes here and get in touch on 0330 024 3200 if you have concerns on this, our friendly experts are here to help.