Yesterday the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced the Winter Economy Plan, which outlined a package of measures that will continue to protect jobs and help businesses through the uncertain months ahead as we continue to tackle the spread of Covid-19.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Government has worked tirelessly to protect jobs and businesses, introducing one of the most generous support measures in the world. Already the Government has announced over £190 billion of support - including paying the wages of nearly 12 million people, supporting over a million businesses through grants, loans and rates cuts and announcing the £30bn Plan for Jobs in July.
The Chancellor’s main announcement was the launch of the Job Support Scheme, where the Government will once again financially support the wages of people in work. The scheme will work like this: if an employee is working 40% of their hours, they would be paid for that time in full by their employer. For the 60% of the time that they are not working, the burden will be split equally between the government, the employer and the employee. The employee will see a 20% reduction in their wages but will, of course, see their job protected. For self-employed people, the Government is extending the existing self-employed grant on similar terms and conditions as the new Job Support scheme.
In addition to this, the Government has announced the Pay As You Grow scheme – which will give the 1m+ small businesses who accessed £38bn of Bounce Back Loans more time and greater flexibility to repay their loans. Loans can be extended for up to ten years, nearly halving average monthly repayments.
VAT & Tax liabilities which were all due in one lump in March can now be spread over 11 repayments, with no interest. Moreover, to support 150,000 businesses and to protect 2.4m jobs throughout the winter, the lower 5% VAT rate for hospitality and tourism will be extended to March 31st next year.
Turning to a different issue, I know there have been concerns regarding partners of expectant mothers being allowed to attend appointments. I appreciate pregnancy can be a nervous time – especially during a pandemic, and I understand how important the support of a loved one is. Having spoken to the GWH regarding this, I have been able to clarify a few queries.
Partners of women who are in labour have always been allowed to attend the Delivery Suite and White Horse Birth Centre throughout the Covid 19 pandemic and this will continue without hesitation. For visits on Hazel ward (which is the antenatal and postnatal ward): partners are able to visit between 11am and 7 pm each day at present.
Allowing partners into scans is trickier due to the size of the rooms and having to enable social distancing (the size and space make the distancing a challenge). With some adjustments to the rooms and the appointment system they aim to enable partners to attend the 20 week anomaly scan by the end of the month – subject, of course, to any further Covid-19 developments.
The fantastic Maternity Team at the GWH is doing all that they can to allow partners to provide support at appointments in a safe environment, and I can say from personal experience that every single member of staff will go above and beyond to provide support and make expectant mothers as comfortable as possible.
