Senator Lyndon Farnham revealed that ministers wanted to boost sectors which had been ‘particularly hard hit’ by the pandemic by revising the Co-funded Payroll Support Scheme, which has subsidised wages for employees of struggling businesses.
He was unable to confirm what shape the revised scheme would take but advised that those companies whose income had fallen the most would benefit.
The minister also said recently that two extra support packages for ailing businesses such as hotels, tourist attractions and event organisers had also been approved in principle by the Council of Ministers.
He confirmed that the support from the revised payroll scheme would be additional to these measures.
Initially the Co-Funded Payroll Scheme paid 80% of staff wages, up to a maximum of £1,600 per month, for any firms whose revenue had fallen by 30% or more.
From September, the level of support has been gradually scaled back, and the revenue threshold lowered to 20%.
Senator Farnham said that with the economic picture worsening, as England had returned to lockdown, further changes to the scheme were being planned to bolster assistance for those businesses suffering the worst financial difficulties.
‘Following the announcement from the [UK] Prime Minister on Sunday [that England was to go into lockdown] we are looking to announce adjustments that we will be making to the current business support schemes,’ he said.
‘We can see that the impact of Covid-19 has been uneven across different sectors and some have been particularly hard hit, such as hospitality and hotel accommodation, while others have remained busy and some have adapted to changing consumer behaviour very well.
‘We are looking to review the payroll co-funding scheme in terms of the support we provide and it will be those businesses that have been hardest hit who will receive more support.’
It is expected that £127 million will have been spent on the Co-Funded Payroll Scheme by the end of the year.
Currently businesses which have had a 20% or more drop in income are able to apply for support and, if successful, can claim for up to 40% of their employees’ wages to be paid for from the public purse.
