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Summary
- The monetary aid extended by the government in the last eight months’ support to businesses translates into more than £200 billion
- The Vaccines Taskforce that was created 6 months back has demonstrated its synergies in such hard times, Sharma said
With the ongoing term of second lockdown in the United Kingdom, the fears of a strained business activity have been anticipated by most of the sectors. The reimposition of curbs on travel and hospitality along with other restrictions affecting various enterprises have reinstated the worries of dull growth in the present quarter.
A large number of businesses have been waiting for further clarity on the duration of lockdown-induced restrictions and other limitations that are hampering their day-to-day operations.
In the middle of all this, the Business Secretary Alok Sharma on Thursday provided a series of updates with regards to the government’s response towards the coronavirus pandemic via a press briefing.
Sharma, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, informed about the number of positive Covid-19 cases, patients under critical medical care, the government’s stimulus packages, and some upcoming relief measures.
Support for businesses
During the challenging times brought by the coronavirus pandemic, the government is intended to continue supporting the businesses as they undergo dearth of demand. All the monetary aid that has been extended by the government in the last eight months’ support to businesses translates into more than £200 billion till date. The government has also extended the furlough scheme to March 2021.
The government has further designated grants of up to £3,000 each month for the businesses that have to shut their operations due to the ongoing lockdown restrictions in England. The grants of up to £3,000 are likely to benefit as much as 600,000 small-to-large scale enterprises.
The secretary confirmed to distribute approximately £2.2 billion funds to the local authorities on Friday, thereby, the concerned department can ascertain the payment of grants to the affected businesses.
Kickstart Scheme
According to the Secretary, all such relief measures are directed to empower the businesses to keep their operations going in the tough times and help preserve jobs.
Through the government’s Kickstart Scheme, nearly 19,000 jobs have been created until now across various geographies of the country in various sectors.
Sharma extended his gratitude towards all the enterprises that participated in the Kickstart Scheme as the project served as a key hope for young jobseekers in the Covid-19 pandemic-laden tightened jobs market.
Covid-19 vaccine
An assigned team of scientists, civil servants, and sectoral experts has been working with a mission to secure a potential and clinically approved vaccine to defeat the lethal Covid-19 SARS-CoV virus, Sharma said.
In the last six months, the team has managed to secure as many as 350 million doses of coronavirus vaccine from six leading vaccine manufacturers working towards its early development.
The Vaccines Taskforce created six months back has demonstrated its synergies in such hard times. On the other hand, researchers and scientists have been devoting a collective effort to discover an effective vaccine for coronavirus.
