West Ham has received unprecedented economic support to protect jobs and businesses during the Coronavirus outbreak. 29,300 jobs have been protected through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, with Government grants covering 80 per cent of people's wages, up to £2,500 a month.
13,300 self-employed people in West Ham are receiving grants worth a total of 38,200,000 from the Government to help with the impact of Coronavirus. Across London, people and businesses are benefitting from the Chancellor's world-leading economic support:
- 1,074,900 people have been supported through the furlough scheme.
- 433,000 self-employed people are receiving grants worth 1,291,000,000 thanks to the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
The Government's top priority has always been to support people, protect jobs and businesses through this crisis, and the furlough and self-employment schemes have been a lifeline for millions of people and businesses across the country.
Commenting, Nick Vandyke, the local Conservative candidate for the London Assembly, said:
This is a hugely challenging time for people and businesses and the Government's schemes have helped to protect the livelihoods of thousands of people in West Ham.
This country has a world-leading economic response to coronavirus. And as we move through the second stage of our roadmap to recovery, we are determined to kick-start the engine of our economy while continuing to provide flexible support to those who need it.
We will do everything we can to ensure people can pay their bills and put food on the table - as people continue to stay alert, to control the virus and save lives.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said:
Our economic response to coronavirus was designed to keep people in work, protect people's incomes, and support businesses. These measures have been on a scale unmatched by any government in recent history. All to give us the best chance of recovering quickly as the economy reopens.
Now our energies are focused on getting people back to work safely, growing the economy and ensuring people can thrive in the new post-Covid world.
Notes
We have put in place unprecedented measures to protect jobs and support businesses:
- Stepping in and helping to pay people's wages - through a scheme which is one of the most generous of any in the world - paying grants to support as many jobs as necessary. Any employer in the country - large, small, charitable or for profit - who promises to retain their staff, has been able to apply for a grant to cover most of the cost of paying people's wages. Government grants will cover 80 per cent of the salary of retained workers up to a total of £2,500 a month - above the median income. (HMRC, Guidance, 5 June 2020.)
- Launching a Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, to make sure people who work for themselves are getting the financial support they need. The Government is paying self-employed people across the whole UK who have been adversely affected by coronavirus a taxable grant worth 80 per cent of their average monthly profits over the last three years, up to £2,500 a month, for three months. (HM Treasury, News story, 29 May 2020)
As we begin to reopen our economy, these schemes will adjust to ensure those who are able to work can do so, while remaining amongst the most comprehensive and generous in the world:
- Extending the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme for three months - so that people will be able to claim a second and final grant in August. Individuals whose livelihoods are adversely affected by coronavirus will be eligible for further support worth 70 per cent of their average monthly trading profits, capped at £6,570 in total. The eligibility criteria are the same for both grants, and individuals will need to confirm that their business has been adversely affected by coronavirus. An individual does not need to have claimed the first grant to receive the second grant; for example, they may only have been adversely affected by coronavirus in this later phase throughout. (HM Treasury, News story, 29 May 2020)
- Setting out details on how the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will continue to support jobs and business as people return to work. In June and July, nothing will change for employers and the Government will continue to pay 80 per cent of people's salaries. From August, the level of the grant will be slowly reduced and employers will be required to top up the government payment to ensure employees receive 80 per cent of their normal pay, up to a monthly cap of £2,500, throughout. (HM Treasury, News story, 29 May 2020)
This is in addition to other steps we have taken to support businesses across the country:
- Introducing the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which has provided 47,650 loans worth £9.56 billion to small and medium sized businesses. The scheme provides loans of up to £5 million, interest free for 12 months, to businesses with an annual turnover of up to £45 million. (HM Treasury, Coronavirus (COVID-19) business loan scheme statistics, 9 June 2020)
- Introducing a new Bounce Back Loans Scheme - a 100 per cent government-backed loan scheme that enables small businesses to borrow up to £50,000 and access the cash within days. The scheme has been designed to ensure that small firms who need vital cash injections to keep operating can get finance in a matter of days. It will provide lenders with a 100 per cent guarantee for the loan - and pay any fees and interest for the first 12 months. No repayments will be due during the first 12 months. So far, over 780,000 Bounce Back Loans have been approved worth over £23.7 billion. (HM Treasury, News story, 27 April 2020)
- Deferring three months of VAT tax, a direct injection of over £30 billion of cash to employers, equivalent to 1.5 per cent of GDP. That means no business will pay any VAT until the end of June, and they will have until the end of the financial year to repay those bills. (HM Treasury, Speech, 20 March 2020)
- Helping all businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, so that that none of these companies will have to pay business rates for 12 months. All businesses in this sector are exempt from business rates for 12 months - that's every single shop, pub, theatre, music venue, restaurant, and any other business in the retail, hospitality or leisure sectors. (HM Treasury, News story, 31 March 2020)
- Providing over 832,000 companies with over £10 billion of business grants through the Small Business Grant Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund. We are providing grants of up to £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with rateable values of less than £51,000. Other small businesses in England, in different sectors, which pay little or no business rates are entitled to a one-off cash grant of £10,000 from their local council. (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, News Story, 20 April 2020; Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, News Story, 20 April 2020.)