Cabinet discussed the government’s fight back against
coronavirus.
The Prime Minister and Secretaries of State set out the action
which is taking place across Whitehall to support the NHS, other
public services, businesses, employees and people across the
country.
The PM said we are engaged in a war against the disease which we
have to win.
He added that government must rise to the challenge of supporting
businesses through what will be hugely challenging times, and
further details will be set out shortly.
Cabinet followed the first meeting of the Economic and Business
Response Committee chaired by Chancellor of the Exchequer,
, with Secretary of State
for Business as Deputy Chair.
Last night’s meeting was also attended by the Secretaries of
State for DCMS, Transport, MHCLG, DIT and DWP, as well as senior
officials from across Whitehall.
The committee will consider and respond to the impact on business
and the economy from the pandemic, including supply chain
resilience, and will also be able to request advice and support
from industry where necessary.
The Secretaries of State will hold sector specific roundtables
including, but not limited to, aviation, retail, manufacturing,
food, insurance, financial services, sport, entertainment and
events, and tourism and hospitality.
These roundtables will help inform the work of the committee. The
PM will also actively engage with business to understand the
challenges faced by firms across the economy in order to shape
the government’s response to the crisis.
At the first meeting, the committee discussed government support
for businesses affected by COVID-19, including urgent progress on
delivering the £12 billion of measures in last week’s Budget.
This includes: reimbursing small and medium-sized employers
across the UK for up to two weeks’ statutory sick pay for each
employee absent due to COVID-19; extending business rates cuts so
that 900,000 small businesses in England will pay no rates at all
in 2020/21, to help them manage financial pressures created by
COVID-19; providing £2.2 billion funding for one-off grants of
£3,000 to around 700,000 small businesses in England; a new
temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme to be
launched shortly to support businesses in all parts of the UK to
access £1 billion of additional bank lending; and a dedicated
HMRC helpline to enable UK businesses in financial distress to
discuss deferring tax bills where necessary.
The committee agreed that further measures would be taken as the
situation develops, and agreed a reinforced effort to ensure that
businesses are aware of support available to them and know how to
access it.
The Chancellor also updated the committee on last Thursday’s
meeting with financial services firms which agreed an additional
£21 billion of lending capacity to firms. The committee also
discussed the importance of keeping under review regulations, and
lightening their burden where possible, including in response to
requests from business.
