Sunak unveils £1 billion support for hospitality

The chancellor today set out measures to help England's hospitality sector as it struggles with a collapse in bookings sparked by the rise in Covid cases.

Rishi Sunak unveiled a £1bn fund including cash grants of up to £6,000 per premises for each eligible firm.

He said the government would also help certain firms with the cost of sick pay for Covid-related absences.

The chancellor also announced an extra £30m to help theatres and museums.

Henrietta Brealey, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “We welcome this additional support for businesses impacted by the latest Covid-19 situation.

"The Chamber and the business community have been vocal about the truly damaging impact of the current situation on key sectors of the economy and the Chancellor has responded with a significant package of support.

“As always, the devil is in the detail and we will be working with our members and partners to understand how the headlines will translate into action on the ground and where any gaps remain.

"Past support has been hampered by significant delays between headline announcements and getting the necessary detail to the authorities tasked with delivering it.

"We urge the government to act swiftly on getting this support to businesses in need. We also have concerns regarding the scale of support given the significant losses incurred by the most impacted businesses.

“I would encourage all members ' in impacted sectors to contact us to share their perspective on this development.

“We will also continue to call for clarity for businesses on the prospect of further Covid-19 restrictions over the course of this critical trading period. ”

For more information on the support announced click here for the official government press release.

To share your views on this support please contact your Chamber relationship manager or [email protected]