Chancellor extends furlough scheme until end of April 2021

Sunak said the move would allow for businesses and employees to “plan with certainty and access support in the first few months of the new year”, and confirmed the next budget would take place on March 3. 

The chancellor also said the government would be extending its various Covid-19 business loan schemes until the end of March.

It means the government will continue to pay 80% of furloughed workers’ wages for six months longer than was originally intended when the scheme was launched at the beginning of the pandemic. 

While both business and consumer confidence has been buoyed in recent weeks by the beginning of vaccination rollouts, the announcement by the government indicates it expects the process to take several months before enough of the population has been covered to allow for anything like business as usual.

Sunak said: “Our package of support for businesses and workers continues to be one of the most generous and effective in the world – helping our economy to recover and protecting livelihoods across the country.

“We know the premium businesses place on certainty, so it is right that we enable businesses to plan ahead regardless of the path the virus takes, which is why we’re providing certainty and clarity by extending this support, as well as implementing our Plan for Jobs.”