Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme opened for Applications

Today, our unprecedented Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has opened for applications – one of the most generous schemes in the world which will help to protect millions of jobs across the country.

• The Government is stepping in and helping pay people’s wages, paying grants to support as many jobs as necessary. The job retention scheme allows employers to claim for a cash grant of up to 80 per cent of a furloughed employees wages, capped at £2,500 a month.
   
• The scheme is now up and running and is expected to benefit millions of people across the country. HMRC’s easy-to-use portal has a step by step application process, and up to 5,000 staff will be manning phone lines and webchat services to ensure any questions can be answered.
   
• This scheme is one of the most generous in the world and we will ensure people get the support they need to do the right thing: to stay at home, protect our NHS, save lives.

The Chancellor has announced a £1.25 billion package of support for innovative firms impacted by coronavirus, delivering important help that will protect some of the most dynamic sectors of our economy.

• Britain is a global leader when it comes to innovation. Our start-ups and businesses driving research and development are one of our great economic strengths, and will help power our growth out of the coronavirus crisis.
   
• The £1.25 billion support package will ensure businesses in some of the most dynamic sectors are protected. This includes a £500 million loan scheme for high-growth firms – called the Future Fund – with private investors at least matching the government commitment, and £750 million of targeted support for small and medium sized businesses focusing on research and development.
   
• This world-leading fund will mean businesses can access the capital they need at this difficult time, ensuring dynamic, fast-growing firms across all sectors can continue to create new ideas and spread prosperity.

Lord Deighton, who successfully ran the 2012 London Olympics, has been appointed to lead our national effort to produce essential protective equipment, so we can ensure our amazing frontline health and social care staff have the protection they need.

• British manufacturers large and small are responding to the challenge of helping ensure our frontline staff have the personal protective equipment they need – but we know we must go further and faster.
   
• Deighton will lead the Government’s focus on increasing the supply of PPE by co-ordinating domestic suppliers, streamlining the process of approving new equipment, adding more companies to the supply chain and making it easier for manufacturers to scale up production, so we can produce more of the equipment we need here in the UK.
   
• We are determined to do everything we can to get more supplies to the frontline. So far we have delivered more than 1 billion items of protective equipment since the pandemic began, but we are working around the clock to deliver more.
• The Government has been working day and night to battle against coronavirus, delivering a strategy designed at all times to protect our NHS and save lives. 
   
• Guided by medical and scientific expertise, we have implemented specific measures to reduce the spread of the virus at the time they will be most effective. 
   
• Our response has meant that the NHS has had all the support it needs to ensure that everyone requiring treatment has received it, as well as providing protection to businesses and reassurance to workers. 
   
• The Prime Minister has been at the helm of the response to this, providing leadership during this hugely challenging period for the whole nation.

• Stay at home

  You must stay at home, only leaving for the following very limited purposes:

• Shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible.
• One form of exercise a day – for example, a run, walk or cycle – alone or with members of your immediate household.
• Any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person.
• Travelling to and from work, but only where this absolutely cannot be done from home.

• Protect the NHS

  You must stay at home to protect the NHS:

• The NHS only has a limited number of doctors, nurses and specialist equipment.
• We are working around the clock to increase NHS capacity.
• The more people who get sick, the harder it is for the NHS to cope.
• We must slow the spread of the disease so that fewer people are sick at any one time.

• Save lives

  You must stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives. The police will have the powers to enforce the following restrictions: 

• Dispersing gatherings of more than two people in public, excluding people you live with.
• Issuing fines to anyone who does not comply with these rules.
• Closing shops that are not essential, as well as playgrounds and places of worship.