Business: Coronavirus

(asked on 26th January 2021) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department takes to consider the mental health of (a) business owners and (b) employees when providing financial support during the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Kemi Badenoch Portrait
Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
This question was answered on 3rd February 2021

Throughout this crisis, the government has sought to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods while also supporting businesses and public services across the UK. To do this, the government has put in place an economic package of support which will provide businesses and individuals with certainty over the coming months, even as measures to prevent further spread of the virus change. The government has spent over £280 billion this year to provide this support.

To support business owners, the government has implemented a package of support, including the Local Restrictions Support Grant, providing closed businesses with a grant of up to £3,000 per month. Local authorities have also recently received an additional £500 million, to a total of £1.6 billion, of discretionary funding to allow them to support their local businesses.

To support employees, The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has been extended until the end of April. This provides a substantial grant for employers to cover 80% of the wages of their employees.

At the Spending Review 2020, the Chancellor announced an additional £500 million to address waiting times for mental health services, give more people the mental health support they need, and invest in the NHS workforce. This builds on the comprehensive expansion of mental health services as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, which commits at least a further £2.3 billion a year by 23/24.

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