COVID-19: UK Government’s Latest Measures to Support UK Businesses

This memorandum updates the position as at November 19, 2020 in relation to the UK government’s wide-ranging economic measures to support UK businesses and mitigate the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Since March 2020, a number of measures have been implemented and/or announced and the official guidance has evolved. In particular, the Chancellor’s ‘Winter Economy Plan’, delivered on September 24, 2020, included a number of measures to assist businesses and individuals.

As part of these measures, during the first half of 2020, the UK government committed to make available to UK businesses an initial £330 billion of government-backed and guaranteed loans, make a material contribution to the salary and wage bills of those who are furloughed in connection with the pandemic and financially support the self-employed. HM Treasury and the Bank of England also continue to provide major financing schemes to help UK businesses bridge the coronavirus related disruption to their cash flows. This memorandum outlines the latest measures proposed by the UK government, and certain other developments likely to be relevant to UK businesses.

Please click here to read the full alert memorandum.