As the impact of Coronavirus continues to affect the economy, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a number of measures in the house of Commons on 8 July 2020 which are summarised below:

• Furlough scheme to end in October.
• Job Retention Bonus of £1,000 to employers for each furloughed employee brought back and employed through to January (Min £525 per month). Payments to be made in February 2021. Further details, including which employees will qualify, to be announced by end of July.
• Job Kickstart scheme – government will pay employers the minimum wage for 6 months of new jobs for 16-24 year olds who are at risk of long term unemployment (claiming universal credit) and employed for at least 25 hours per week.
• New funding for sector based work academies and National Careers Service.
• Employers to receive £2,000 per new under 25 apprentice hired between August and January (£1,500 if aged 25 and over). This is in addition to existing funding.
• Green Homes Grant to give £5,000 voucher per household to cover two-thirds of cost of installing energy efficient measures. Full details of qualifying measures to be announced.
• Stamp duty cut – Nil rate band increased to £500,000 immediately up to 31 March 2021.
• Temporary VAT cut – From 15 July 2020 to 12 January 2021, the reduced (5%) rate of VAT will apply to supplies of food and non-alcoholic drinks from restaurants, pubs, bars, cafés and similar premises across the UK, and on supplies of accommodation and admission to attractions across the UK. Further guidance on the scope of this relief will be published by HMRC in the coming days.
• Eat Out to Help Out – Discount of 50% up to £10 per head on sit-down meals and non-alcoholic drinks on Mondays – Wednesdays in August in participating restaurants and cafes.

As always we await full details of these measures to be able to provide any detailed advice.