Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled a new £4.6bn lockdown fund to help businesses through the third English lockdown.

On Tuesday morning, the Chancellor announced the new package which includes one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth £9,000 per property. Also included was a £594m discretionary fund, with further grants for local authorities worth up to £3,000 a month for firms.

It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson plunged the country into a new lockdown last night with the strict order to "stay at home", but failed to mention any details of further support to help firms cope.

BUSINESS SUPPORT: Click here for more on all the support and grants available for businesses during lockdown 3

Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said businesses understood the PM's need to act due to the "spiralling threat" to public health.

But he said with tens of thousands of firms again in a "precarious position", financial support must now be stepped up once more.

Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer

Announcing the new package, Mr Sunak said: "The new strain of the virus presents us all with a huge challenge - and whilst the vaccine is being rolled out, we have needed to tighten restrictions further.

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"Throughout the pandemic we’ve taken swift action to protect lives and livelihoods and today we’re announcing a further cash injection to support businesses and jobs until the Spring.

"This will help businesses to get through the months ahead – and crucially it will help sustain jobs, so workers can be ready to return when they are able to reopen."

Here's how businesses reacted to the announcement:

Support package welcomed in Liverpool

Paul Cherpeau, chief executive of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce: “Whilst this is not the New Year start we all wanted, it is vital now to follow Government guidelines and for all businesses to advise staff to work from home where possible.

“We are also pleased to see this morning’s announcement from the Chancellor for top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure as well as discretionary funds for other impacted businesses.

“We still though continue to champion Liverpool business to local and national Government and push for ongoing and sustained financial support for all businesses including those falling through the funding gap as well as supply chains and freelancers.

“We continue to urge all businesses to make use of the mass testing programme in Liverpool and are here for all members and businesses to offer help and guidance over the next few months.”

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Chancellor does not rule our further help

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has not ruled out further support for businesses and workers struggling due to the current national lockdowns – with unions and business leaders calling for improvements in sick pay and an extension of the business rates holiday.

In an interview with Sky News, he said: “We’ll have a budget in early March where we’ll take stock of all the various support that we’ve put in place, including today’s announcement of cash grants, and then review and set out the next stage of our economic response to coronavirus at that point.”

Asked whether the Government has been too slow to act in announcing the new lockdown, he said the Prime Minister has acted “decisively”.

He said: “The Prime Minister has acted decisively once we’ve received new information about the spread of this new variant, and with heavy heart, and it’s regrettable that we’ve had to act with respect to schools for all the obvious reasons and the problems we’ve talked about, but it’s right that we take these measures to suppress the spread of the virus.”

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'Protect health and leisure centre before it's too late'

The health and leisure industry has called on the Government for urgent financial support to safeguard “the physical and mental wellbeing of people across the UK”.

Fitness centres, gyms, swimming pools and tennis courts have all been forced to close again following the latest lockdown measures in the fight against coronavirus.

Ukactive, a non-profit industry association which represents more than 4,000 gyms and leisure centres, has also warned that jobs and businesses are under threat.

“Operators of all sizes across the UK are sounding the alarm that their businesses are unsustainable and facing substantial job losses if they are forced to close again without a comprehensive package of tailored financial and regulatory support,” said ukactive chief executive Huw Edwards.

“Therefore, they must be prioritised and protected or we risk widespread business failure that will have major health impacts for a generation.”

Mr Edwards said it was “crucial” the further restrictions were respected, but urged the Government for “credible plans to minimise the damaging impact lockdown has on the physical and mental wellbeing of people across the UK”.

“We cannot afford to wait until the vaccine rollout is advanced before we act, so the Government must explore all options at this time and provide a credible plan for maintaining this support to millions of people who rely on these Covid-secure facilities to stay strong and healthy.

“Furthermore, the UK governments must protect this sector before it becomes too late. They must acknowledge that January and February represent a vital period for gyms, pools, and leisure facilities to trade but they currently have zero income, unlike other sectors.”

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Academic calls for longer term support

Dr Gordon Fletcher, retail expert from the University of Salford Business School, says longer term support is required.

Dr Fletcher said: “The maths is not great for this new offer of support from the Chancellor. The majority of the £4.6bn in support goes to the retail, hospitality and leisure sector across the country as an offer of up to £9,000 for each property. With the restriction due to last for at least six weeks that works out at £1,500 per week. Enough to cover the most immediate basics.

“After 10 months of restrictions there is a real need to not just keep the lights on but to actively support businesses in these sectors to thoroughly "pivot" and shift their business models.

"These sectors can become more robust to social-distancing and lockdowns restrictions but although the impetus to innovate may be present there is also a need for investment to support this change.”

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Lockdown support 'doesn't go far enough', says FSB

Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair Mike Cherry said: "While this additional financial support will be a lifeline to 600,000 businesses and therefore has value, there is a need for a plan that matches the scale of the economic damage we are seeing.

"For many it just won't be enough for businesses who are already under the cosh and on the brink.

"These funds come after a disappointing festive period and are followed by a last minute lockdown and do not go far enough to match the scale of the crisis that small firms are facing.

"There remain too many groups who need more support to weather this storm such as the newly self-employed, those in supply chains and company directors.

"We continue to call on the government to create a Directors Income Support Scheme, mirroring the Self Employed Support Scheme, in the form of a taxable grant for directors of limited companies calculated at 80% of three months average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment and capped at £7,500.

"We also need to see the Government make clear its plans for more finance capabilities made available to those who have used their allocations through Bounce Bank Loans as well as extending the period before repayments begin.

"This lockdown is expected to last for some time, even when restrictions ease, many small firms will be unable to function at 100%, if at all. Which is why the Government should create a Spring Economy Plan to help firms get through to drive a vaccine-enabled recovery.

"After clawing their way through 2020, the start of the new year looks set to be an even worse one for many. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and it is absolutely vital we support them in every way possible until the crisis finally begins to ease.”

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Welcome from pub groups

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “We welcome this much-needed support from the Chancellor, worth £277m to UK pubs. It is the lifeline we have been campaigning for to save our pubs and help them survive through to the Spring.

“Without this support, pubs across England were at real risk of being lost for good at the beginning of this year. We had been anticipating permanent closures in the very short term without it.

“Given that the future of so many pubs hang by a thread, it is essential that the Government deliver these grants to pub businesses immediately. If the grants take weeks or months to get to the pubs they are meant for, it will be too late.

"We stand ready to work with Government and Local Authorities to ensure the grants are delivered at pace. We also need confirmation from Government that the new State Aid rules will allow businesses access to these grants.

“The grants will mean many pubs may now be able make it through until spring. The Government now must also provide the same levels of support to brewers who have suffered months of closure of a major trading channel in pubs, but are not eligible for the support announced today.

“In the coming months, the Government must also share how it will help our sector to play a leading role in the economic recovery when it can reopen, by extending stimulus support such as the Business Rates holiday and VAT cut, along with further initiatives including a beer duty cut. The sooner we hear of the long term support for the sector the better.”

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Reaction from London

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan welcomed the additional measures but called for more support, including an extension of the furlough scheme until the vaccine is rolled out widely and restrictions are lifted.

“It should have come sooner and it won’t replace the revenue lost over the vital Christmas period, but it should help many struggling retail, hospitality and leisure businesses stay afloat until spring,” he said.

“Clearly more help is needed – including an extension to the business rates holiday and the VAT relief scheme, targeted support for night-time economy businesses which have been forced to stay shut since March, and more support for those who are self-isolating.”

Richard Burge, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “These grants will be welcomed by businesses who have been forced to close, and particularly those in London with a rateable value above £51,000 – who have previously not been able to access such grant support.

“But the Government need to demonstrate they understand that this remains a marathon, it’s not yet the final sprint.

“As such, we need to see the Chancellor is looking beyond spring.

“Extension of the VAT and business rate relief periods would show Government understand that our economy will not fully recover until vaccination rollout is complete and London’s tourism and global economy recovered – which will be beyond spring realistically.”

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Support packaged welcomed in Birmingham

Referring to the new grants package announced by the Chancellor, Paul Faulkner, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said he was relieved Mr Sunak had answered the chambers' calls to ‘Back Our Businesses' with enhanced support.

"With a national lockdown now in place on top of over nine months of restrictions, it was essential businesses received additional support to survive in order to be in a place to thrive and contribute to economic recovery as the vaccine rollout takes effect," he said.

"While we await the details, it is critical non-business rate payers receive support as well as rate payers and that supply chain businesses, which fall outside of these closed sectors but are critically impacted, get the help they desperately need.

"The Government must ensure local authorities are allocated sufficient discretionary grant funding to support those businesses, particular in areas where overheads such as rents are particularly high.

"After weeks of concerning silence on business support, this is a huge step forward that will make a huge difference to some of the most impacted businesses."

And West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said on Twitter: “I’m delighted the Chancellor has responded to our calls and put more cash on the table for the most affected sectors.

“This is a short-term solution and more recovery support will be needed, but it is a hugely positive step.”

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Newcastle business group calls for longer-term support package

Adrian Waddell, chief executive of Newcastle city centre business improvement district NE1 Ltd, said: "Lockdown 3.0 comes as a savage blow for many North East businesses who were hoping that the New Year would bring a loosening not a tightening of restrictions.

"With the prospect of February being the first time the restrictions will be reviewed, we know we are in this for some time. The Government needs to channel the same level of effort into supporting businesses as it has into supporting the nation’s health and there needs to be a detailed and strategic plan not just for the next few months but for the next financial year that will give businesses some certainty and an ability to plan for the future.

"We welcome the financial package the Chancellor has announced today for the third lockdown and we know it will help some businesses get through the next few months – but this help is needed beyond the Spring.

"Businesses need clarity and a degree of certainty. Two measures we know have already been effective; the business rates relief package and VAT rate reduction to 5%, should be extended into the next financial year 2021/22. If implemented, this would offer support for businesses in the medium to long term, protecting jobs and livelihoods and ensuring that businesses are in a position to bounce back when the restrictions are eventually lifted and the vaccine has been rolled out.

"Businesses want to do business; they want to trade and function as intended. Like the rest of us, they don’t want to sit at home in lockdown. Given the prevailing circumstances, and to allow businesses to plan more than a few weeks ahead, we want to see the Chancellor making this kind of commitment to allow advance planning."

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Support package is 'sticking plaster', says UK Hospitality

UKHospitality chief executive, Kate Nicholls said “This is obviously a very positive step to keep businesses afloat in the immediate term and, for that reason, must be welcomed.

"The Chancellor has rightly recognised the costs imposed on hospitality businesses by enforced closures and the need for additional support. It is also encouraging that the discretionary grants address the suffering in the supply chains upon which our sector is reliant.

“However, while this announcement is most welcome, make no mistake that this is only a sticking plaster for immediate ills – it is not enough to even cover the costs of many businesses and certainly will not underpin longer-term business viability for our sector.

"To address the inevitable and existential challenges that hospitality faces, we need confirmation of extensions to the business rates holiday and of the 5% VAT rate.

“On its own, today’s support is not enough. Businesses need a longer-term economic plan and it would befit the crisis that we face if the Chancellor brought forward his Budget to make the announcements necessary to reassure businesses and allow them to plan their survival.

"Commercial certainty cannot come soon enough and only the Chancellor can deliver it.”

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Councils welcome new business support

Richard Watts, chair of the Local Government Association’s resources board, said:

“Councils continue to work tirelessly to support communities and businesses through this crisis. This includes distributing more than £11bn to 880,000 small businesses through previous grant schemes earlier this year.

“Emergency grants have been a vital lifeline to businesses struggling and worried about the future. With the national lockdown set add further pressures onto businesses, we are pleased that government has announced this new scheme.

“Councils stand ready to work again to get this new government funding out to businesses but need details on how the scheme will work and the funding to distribute as soon as possible.

"It is good that they will have discretionary funding also to ensure as many businesses in their area can benefit as possible. This amount will need to be kept under review to ensure it is sufficient to meet demand for support.”

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Fuller statement from British Chambers

BCC director general Adam Marshall said: "While this immediate cash flow support for business is welcome, itis not going to be enough to save many firms. We need to see a clear support package for the whole of 2021, not just another incremental intervention.

“The Government must move away from this drip-feed approach and set out a long-term plan that allows all businesses of all shapes and sizes to plan, and ultimately survive.

"Many smaller firms won’t qualify for the full headline amounts set out in the Chancellor’s statement, and will be left struggling to see how this new top-up grant will help them out of their cashflow problems.

"Support must be sufficient to cover not just those on the front line of retail, hospitality and leisure, but also firms in supply chains and wider business communities who are also feeling the devastating impacts of these restrictions.”

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Gove warns restrictions could remain until March

Tough new coronavirus restrictions may have to remain in place until March, senior Cabinet minister Michael Gove warned, as England enters its third national lockdown.

In a televised address on Monday, Boris Johnson announced stringent new controls – including closing schools to most pupils – in an attempt to prevent the NHS being overwhelmed by a surge in new infections.

But, in a round of broadcast interviews on Tuesday morning, Mr Gove said relaxation of the rules may have to wait until the following month – and that even then some measures may have to remain in place.

“We will keep these constantly under review, but we can’t predict with certainty that we will be able to lift restrictions in the week commencing February 15-22,” he told Sky News.

“What we will be doing is everything that we can to make sure that as many people as possible are vaccinated, so that we can begin to progressively lift restrictions.

“I think it is right to say that, as we enter March, we should be able to lift some of these restrictions, but not necessarily all.”

Mr Johnson’s announcement came after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon imposed a lockdown on Scotland for the rest of January, with a legal requirement to stay at home and schools closed to most pupils until February.

Schools and colleges in Wales will also remain closed until at least January 18 and move to online learning, while in Northern Ireland – which is already under a six-week lockdown – “stay at home” restrictions will be brought back into law and a period of remote learning for schoolchildren will be extended.

Mr Gove said they had been forced to act with a “heavy heart” after the chief medical officers of the four nations warned there was a danger the NHS would be overwhelmed by the surge in infections caused by the new variant of Covid-19.

“In the circumstances we felt that the only thing we could do was to close those primary schools that were open,” he said.

With the Government acknowledging that exams will not be able to go ahead as planned in the summer, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson will address a recalled House of Commons on Wednesday to update MPs on how pupils will be assessed.

With MPs due to debate the new restrictions on Wednesday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer confirmed his party would support the Government.

He warned however that meeting Mr Johnson’s target of vaccinating 13m people by mid-February – including all over-70s – would not be easy.

Meanwhile, some doctors and scientists expressed concern that the latest measures would still not be enough to prevent the NHS being overwhelmed.

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Devolved nations

As business support is devolved, through the Barnett Formula, the devolved administrations will share a pot of more than £700m.

This will see:

  • The Welsh Government receiving £227m.
  • The Scottish Government £375m.
  • The Northern Ireland Executive will receive £127m.

It will be for each devolved government to decide to how to invest the finance.

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British Chambers of Commerce chief calls for greater support

In a tweet, BCC director-general Adam Marshall said: "While welcome, new #lockdown grant support from @RishiSunak@hmtreasury is incremental. Ministers need to set out a clear support package for the whole of 2021 - not just until Spring - to help businesses of all shapes and sizes survive this difficult and uncertain year."

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'Good as far as it goes' says Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham


Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said the Chancellor’s proposals were “good as far as it goes, but no mention of people excluded from public support”.

“Does the Government really have no intention of bringing 3 million taxpayers in from the cold? If not, Parliament should call a vote on this tomorrow,” he tweeted.

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Cautious backing from the Northern Powerhouse Partnership

Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, tweets: "At @NP_Partnership we welcome additional support, & acknowledge significant economic support by @RishiSunak. PM must provide detail on his promised Northern economic recovery plan we can move from temporary help to rebuilding confidence to invest to create new jobs."

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Manufacturing group calls for long-term plan for embattled sectors

Make UK said: "In sectors like aviation and automotive yesterday's announcement will further damage already fragile demand. Government must bring forward a plan for the next six months that provides stability and confidence, and targeted support for critical sectors."

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What is missing from Chancellor's support package?

The Chancellor stopped short of extending the business rates holiday, which ends in April, despite calls from retail and hospitality leaders for such a move.

Other noticeable absences being called for by business groups and unions include a VAT cut and improvements to sick pay or support for working parents.

On Monday night Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “The biggest difference the Government can make is to extend business rates relief from April for those hardest hit by repeated lockdowns.”

According to real estate specialists Altus Group, 401,690 non-essential shops, 64,537 pubs/restaurants, 20,703 personal care facilities and 7,051 gyms and leisure centres are now closed.

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Chancellor releases video to announce new business support package

Rishi Sunak has released a video outlining the background to today's funding announcement.

He says: "Yesterday evening the Prime Minister announced a national lockdown.

"The new strain of the virus presents us with a new challenge just as the vaccine is being rolled out.

"So it is right to give more support for businesses to get through until Spring.

"Today I'm announcing a further £4.6bn for the hardest-hit businesses across the UK; those in retail, leisure, hospitality forced to close. To support the millions of people who work in those industries, we'll provide cash grants of up to £9,000 per business premises and give local councils an additional half a billion pounds to support businesses in their area.

"That's on top of the ongoing grants of up to £3,000 a month that businesses can already claim, as well as extending the furlough scheme until April. All part of our £280bn Plan for Jobs and of course we'll have a Budget in early March to take stock of our wider support and set out the next stage in our economic response.

"The next few weeks are going to be difficult. But the end is in sight. We are vaccinating more and more people every day. So that's why we're re-doubling our efforts to protect businesses, jobs and incomes. "

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Support welcome - but Chancellor must look beyond furlough and hospitality sector, says business leader

Frank McKenna, of business lobbying group Downtown in Business, tweeted the following:

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Chancellor posts video to explain his new support package

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has tweeted the following video, in which he explains the new multibillion-pound support package:


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CBI director-general calls for more support

In a tweet, new CBI director-general Tony Danker says: "Make no mistake – the economic impact of these new restrictions is very significant.

"More comprehensive restrictions require a more comprehensive economic response. We are now in touch with companies across the country to understand their response."

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Detail on top-up grants

Top-up grants announced today are expected to benefit more than 600,000 business properties, and will be worth £4bn across all nations of the UK.

Support available is:

  • £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under
  • £6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
  • £9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000

The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been given responsibility and funding for schemes in their nations.

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Sunak: "This will help businesses to get through the months ahead"

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: "The new strain of the virus presents us all with a huge challenge - and whilst the vaccine is being rolled out, we have needed to tighten restrictions further.

"Throughout the pandemic we’ve taken swift action to protect lives and livelihoods and today we’re announcing a further cash injection to support businesses and jobs until the Spring.

"This will help businesses to get through the months ahead – and crucially it will help sustain jobs, so workers can be ready to return when they are able to reopen."

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Chancellor announces £4.6bn in new support for businesses

A press release from the Treasury has announced a £4.6bn support package for business.

The package includes:

  • One-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring
  • £594m discretionary fund also made available to support other impacted businesses
  • £1.1 bn further discretionary grant funding for Local Authorities, Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to £3,000 a month and extension of furlough scheme
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'Close-knit business community will be vital'

We've had the following from Andrew Ruffler, CEO of Professional Liverpool, who said: “The new lockdown is obviously a setback on the long, hard road of the pandemic, but necessary to slow down the fast spread of the new variant.

"Schools closing is a huge issue and we’d encourage a renewed understanding and acceptance of the circumstances that individuals and businesses will be facing, particularly those who will be once more juggling their personal and professional commitments at a time when out of school care for children is not accessible.

“Across the board, kindness, fairness and supportiveness are essential in maintaining positive mental health and wellbeing.

"One of the blessings for anyone based in a regional centre like Liverpool is there tends to be a close-knit business community.

"That’s certainly the case across LCR and we recognise the importance of businesses utilising these relationships and calling on the expertise that we have on our doorstep during what is the biggest challenge our country has faced for generations.”

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