PM, Chancellor, CSO To Hold Presser On Latest Economic Package At 1600BST

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, and Chief Scientific Officer Sir Patrick Vallance are due to hold a press conference on the latest economic support measures for the UK in the wake of tightening COVID-19 restrictions in certain areas at 1600BST (1100ET, 1700CET).

• Relatively generous support package comes in three parts:
  1. New grants scheme for businesses impacted by Tier 2 restrictions, even if they aren't legally closed. Each business in hospitality, leisure & accommodation can get a grant worth up to GBP2,100 every month. These are additional to the grants of up to GBP3,000 available for businesses who have been legally required to close. These will be retrospective grants meaning businesses can backdate them to when their region went into Tier 2 or 3.
  2. Self-employed grants doubled from 20% to 40%, meaning the maximum grant will go up from GPB1,875 to GBP3,750. Grants are available for all self-employed people (all tiers) who've stopped trading or have a significant fall in trade, with two further payments to come.
  3. Open businesses which are experiencing considerable difficulty will be given extra help to keep staff on as government increases contribution to wage costs under the Job Support Scheme, and business contributions drop to 5% from 33%.