Rishi Sunak To Extend Furlough Scheme To The Summer

RISHI SUNAK will use the March budget to extend the furlough scheme to the summer

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak is said to be preparing to announce an extension to the furlough scheme, originally due to end in April to the end of the summer, according to the Financial Times. He is also set to announce at the March 3 budget meeting that the current business rates holiday will remain in place for the hospitality and retail industries. \unfortunately the decision doesn’t come cheap, with experts claiming that the furlough scheme is currently costing £5 billion per month.

The news will come as a huge relief to many, with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) calling on the government to extend both schemes to keep the financial support “in parallel to restrictions,” while The British Chambers of Commerce said it would be a “huge mistake” to “pull the plug” on the support now given that overcoming the third wave of the pandemic is “within sight”.

Responding to claims that the state debt has hit an all-time high of more than £2.1trillion, Mr Sunak said:

“Since the start of the pandemic we’ve invested over £280 billion to protect jobs, businesses and livelihoods across the UK – this is the fiscally responsible thing to do and the best way to support sustainable public finances in the medium term.

“We’ve been able to respond comprehensively and generously through this crisis because of our strong public finances.

“Therefore, it’s right that once our economy begins to recover, we should look to return the public finances to a more sustainable footing and I’ll always be honest with the British people about how we will do this.”

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