Covid: Furlough will be extended in the Budget, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng confirms
The furlough scheme will be extended when the Budget is set out on Wednesday, the business secretary has confirmed.
The support programme, that saw the government pay 80% of wages for those out-of-work since the first lockdown, will be extended beyond the end of April - the scheme's current end date, as set by the chancellor in December.
Cabinet minister Kwasi Kwarteng did not say how long the scheme would be extended for, when speaking to ITV News, however he suggested support should be provided until the end of lockdown.
"Tomorrow [Budget day] will be about further support, extending support, for jobs, families and also for businesses," Mr Kwarteng said.
"The critical thing...is keeping people in jobs, keeping businesses afloat, making sure that once we come out of the Covid pandemic, that the economy is in the best place possible to recover and grow and that won't happen if we simply allow people to not be furloughed and we don't continue to provide support."
Mr Kwarteng pointed to a number of schemes that Chancellor Rishi Sunak will be "looking to extend", including furlough, Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loans, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and VAT holidays.
Asked how long he would like to see support extended, the senior minister said: "I think very conveniently we have a roadmap, we have some degree of clarity.
"If, as is expected and likely, the roadmap dates are met, we will be able to open up essentially Britain for business, almost back to normal, on June 21."
He said June 21, when Boris Johnson hopes to have removed all coronavirus restrictions, "will be a good time to see exactly where we are, to drive economic growth".
He added: "We can't be in a position where we are effectively killing off, choking off the recovery before it has a chance to start and I think the chancellor is very focused on that."
Speaking to broadcasters on Sunday, Mr Sunak hinted that furlough would be extended, and suggested packages of financial support will align with the PM's roadmap out of lockdown.
But he said he would have to "level" with the public about the UK's damaged economy, leading many to speculate about tax rises.
The business secretary suggested corporation tax would not be increased in a bid to balance the books in this Budget.
"I'm not sure that's something that will necessarily happen tomorrow - clearly businesses have been supported a great deal and so there's an argument that says maybe in the future they can be expected to support/contribute to the tax revenue," he said.
"That's a debate I think for another day."
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