Ook meer steun voor bedrijven in de UK, bron Guardian
Businesses hit by Omicron to get £1bn bailout, says Rishi Sunak
Chancellor announces funding primarily for hospitality and leisure sectors, as Covid surge affects trade
According to UK Hospitality, many businesses have lost up to 60% of their trade in December, which is usually their most profitable month. Photograph: Sophia Evans/The Observer
Andrew Sparrow and Richard Partington
Tue 21 Dec 2021 08.00 EST
A bailout package worth about £1bn for businesses losing trade because of the Omicron surge was announced by the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, on Tuesday.
The funding will primarily help firms in the leisure and hospitality sector, and follows concerns that they have faced cancelled bookings and plummeting custom since the government implemented its Covid plan B.
Sunak said the government was intervening because “the spread of the Omicron variant means businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors are facing huge uncertainty, at a crucial time”.
The bailout package consists of four elements:
Grants for hospitality and leisure businesses in England, worth up to £6,000 per premise. The Treasury has set aside £683m for these payments, which will be administered through local authorities and will be available in the coming weeks.
Further grants for businesses in England, worth £102m, intended to help businesss most in need, and again administered through local authorities.
The resumption of the statutory sick pay rebate scheme, which will reimburse employers in the UK with fewer than 250 workers for the cost of paying statutory sick pay for Covid-related absences for up to two weeks.