Chancellor's measures are "welcome benefit" for businesses, says MP

Welsh Conservative MP for Clwyd South, Simon Baynes, has welcomed today’s announcement of  Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Winter Economy Plan.

The announcement unveiled a series of new packages designed to support viable jobs and businesses through a time of depressed demand, and forms the next phase of the UK Government’s planned economic response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The packages contained within the plan include:

*  Job Support scheme – directly funds businesses to protect viable jobs and people’s wages rather than laying off employees during a difficult winter period. Businesses will continue to pay employees for the proportion of time they work, but the burden of hours not worked will be shared equally between the employee, employer and Government.

Employers can use the Job Support Scheme as well as claim the Jobs Retention Bonus. There will also be a grant-extension for self-employed small businesses who have used the SEISS scheme.

* Greater support for businesses: - introduction of the ‘Pay As You Grow’ scheme, providing greater flexibility to businesses repaying loans by extending the term of Bounce Back Loans to ten years. This allows more time for businesses to access Government loan schemes by extending the application deadline for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and Future Fund loans to the end of November.

* Extension of temporary VAT cut for tourism and hospitality sectors – the temporary 5% rate of VAT will be extended from the end of January 2021 to March 2021

* Deferring repayments of VAT – new scheme launched to allow businesses to pay back VAT owed in smaller equal monthly payments, until the end of March 2022.

* More time for self-assessment businesses to pay back – 18-month deferral for the Time To Pay service until the end of January 2022.

Commenting on the Chancellor’s announcement, Simon Baynes MP said: “I very much welcome the Chancellor’s Winter Economy Plan, and am delighted that the packages contained will provide a huge boost to many businesses and employers who are at the heart of Clwyd South’s economy.

“There are already reasons to be cautiously optimistic, with the UK enjoying three consecutive months of growth thanks to the Government’s comprehensive economic response back in March, and with millions of people moving back to work out of furlough and consumer spending returning. But the recent resurgence of Coronavirus threatens this recovery, and with the clear knowledge that the world has to learn to live with Covid-19 for months to come, the next phase of economic support must be different from the packages unveiled in March.

“Measures such as the Job Support Scheme will give employers the breathing room they need to protect employees jobs whilst navigating what is likely to be a difficult winter, and support to further protect businesses by extending loan deadlines and defer VAT for the tourism and hospitality sectors will provide a welcome benefit to many businesses within Clwyd South.”