Chancellor Rishi Sunak promises wage bailout for workers hardest hit by coronavirus by the end of the week
RISHI Sunak last night promised a wage bailout for workers hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis by the end of the week, but pressure spiralled on him to act sooner.
The Chancellor told MPs he was working on a plan that would underwrite wage costs for staff below a certain salary threshold in the hospitality, travel and leisure sectors.
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And he also refused to rule out adopting proposals put forward by business groups calling for “reverse National Insurance” payments that would see firms get money for employing people rather than paying job taxes.
Asked about the proposal by the Commons Treasury committee yesterday, Mr Sunak said: "We are looking at all potential measures to meet the objectives that we set which are to provide cash flow support to businesses and fundamentally to try and preserve employment and productive capacity in the economy."
But he said he was working on employment support measures that can be implemented “as quickly as possible” and will be “as targeted as possible” to ensure those most in need receive the money first.
Pumping money into a large company that isn’t significantly affected by the virus would be a waste of resources, the Chancellor said.
Instead the Government was looking at targeting workers in the leisure, hospitality and travel sectors, which are the hardest hit by the virus.
But he acknowledged the larger the economic threat of the virus, the more a macro-level approach would be needed.
KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON
Meanwhile Britain's energy suppliers have joined with the Government to launch an emergency package which ensures that vulnerable customers are able to keep the lights on through the coronavirus crisis.
Customers with pre-payment metres who are unable to leave their house can now speak to their supplier to get other options.
It could include sending someone else to top up their card, having a pre-loaded gas or electricity card sent to them in the post, or having funds added to their credit.
Customers who cannot afford to pay their bills will get support from their supplier, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has said.
Those in financial distress could get their debt repayments and bill payments reassessed paused or reduced where needed, and no credit metres will be disconnected during the outbreak.
The UK's major mobile operators are to allow customers to access NHS advice about coronavirus for free.
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EE, O2, Three and Vodafone have all agreed to let customers go to //www.nhs.uk and 111.nhs.uk without any data costs.
The Department of Health and Social Care said the initiative was designed to ensure that everyone could get verified and up-to-date NHS information and advice on the Covid-19 outbreak.
Free access to online NHS services will be available for as long as Covid-19 is prevalent in the UK, the department said.
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