Rishi Sunak: Government to take ‘fresh look’ at two-metre rule June 14, 2020 Rishi Sunak has said the government would take a “fresh look” at its two-metre social distancing rule in a review. The chancellor confirmed there would be a “comprehensive review” of the rule as pressure increases from businesses to change it to one-metre. Hospitality bodies have lobbied the government for the change, with businesses worried the [...]
OECD: UK economy to take world’s biggest hit from Covid-19 June 10, 2020 The UK will suffer the largest economic hit from the coronavirus pandemic among major nations this year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned. Predicting that the UK economy could contract between 11.5 and 14 per cent in 2020, the organisation said Covid-19 represents the biggest peacetime economic downturn in a century [...]
Get the Bank of England focused on the real economy June 10, 2020 Economic policy is returning to its usual position of prominence. Fears of a major rise in unemployment are starting to worry the government more than fears around Covid-19. The chancellor’s imaginative schemes concerning furlough and other measures to protect jobs create potential problems elsewhere. So much money is being borrowed that the ratio of public [...]
Government’s Future Fund approves just £55.9m of convertible loans to date June 9, 2020 The government’s Future Fund scheme has approved £55.9m of convertible loans despite receiving applications worth £515m on the first day of launching. The fund was set up as an alternative to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme (CBILS) for startups unable to demonstrate a turnover. It was designed to support startups through the coronavirus crisis [...]
Coronavirus unemployment could take seven years to rebound, says think tank June 9, 2020 Levels of unemployment could take seven years to be restored to pre-coronavirus levels, according to a leading UK think tank. Torsten Bell, chief executive at The Resolution Foundation, said today there had been “way too much talk of a v-shaped [economic] recovery” and that based on historical precedents it will take almost a decade for [...]
Number of workers on UK furlough scheme nears 9m June 9, 2020 Almost 9m workers in the UK have been furloughed due to the coronavirus pandemic at a cost of £19.6bn, according to new figures from the Treasury. As of 7 June, 8.9m jobs were being supported by the government under its coronavirus job retention scheme, an increase of 200,000 on the week before. Businesses have now [...]
Coronavirus: Cabinet ministers ‘push to cut two metre social distancing rule’ June 9, 2020 A majority of Boris Johnson’s cabinet ministers are said to be putting pressure on Downing Street to relax the two-metre social distancing rule to contain coronavirus. The Prime Minister, who will chair a cabinet meeting today, is thought to be sympathetic to calls to dispense with the two-metre rule, amid a clamour from the hospitality [...]
French economy set for two-year recovery June 9, 2020 France’s economy will not rebound to pre-coronavirus levels until 2022 as it continues to suffer its worst post-war recession, the central bank said this morning. The Eurozone’s second largest economy is set to contract 10.3 per cent this year, the Bank of France said. However, it will begin to return to health next year, with [...]
Coronavirus: New fund launched to create apprenticeships in London June 9, 2020 A new fund has been launched by City Hall and a leading London think tank to provide retraining opportunities to London businesses affected by coronavirus. The London Progression Collaboration – run by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the Greater London Authority – launched the fund today, with £500,000 already pledged by companies [...]
BoE: Furlough means UK faces record labour market inactivity June 8, 2020 The UK is facing what appears to be a record level of inactivity in its labour market as huge numbers of people are on furlough or facing unemployment due to Covid-19, the Bank of England’s chief economist has warned. “We’ve seen activity across the economy collapse, and we’ve seen a rapid rise in inactivity among [...]