UK expands help for lockdown-hit firms as economic recovery wanes

UK expands help for lockdown-hit firms as economic recovery wanes

UK expands help for lockdown-hit firms as economic recovery wanes

2 hours ago

A woman walks past a closed branch of The Edinburgh Woollen Mill in Edinburgh on Friday. Agence France-Presse

British finance minister Rishi Sunak on Friday announced his latest programme to try to stave off a surge in unemployment, offering extra help for businesses and workers who are forced to stop work during coronavirus lockdowns.

In a move likely to cost billions of pounds over the six-month duration of the new scheme, Sunak said the government would pay up to two-thirds of employees' salaries, capped at 2,100 pounds ($2,725) a month each, if they work for companies that are forced to close temporarily.

A resurgence of the pandemic has forced Prime Minister Boris Johnson to consider new containment measures and is