UK boosts business aid amid pressure to ease virus impact
LONDON (AP) — U.K. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak is increasing subsidies for bars, pubs and restaurants hammered by strict new measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, amid criticism that the government has failed to protect small businesses and workers from the economic hardship caused by the pandemic.
The new funding, which could cost 13 billion pounds ($17 billion) over the next six months, is aimed at businesses that are struggling to attract customers because of restrictions on social interactions, even if the government doesn't order them to close.
It comes just a month after Sunak unveiled his “job protection" plan, which business owners said was so inadequate that it gave them an incentive to lay off workers rather than keep them on the payroll.
“There are difficult days and weeks ahead, but we will get through this together,″ Sunak told the House of Commons on Thursday. “People are not on their own. We have an economic plan that will protect the jobs and livelihoods of the British people wherever they live and whatever their situation.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government is banking on a three-tiered, regional strategy to control the coronavirus pandemic without resorting to a nationwide lockdown that it says would devastate the economy. Cities in northern England, where infection rates are highest, have resisted efforts to move them into the highest level of restrictions because they say government promises of financial support aren't enough to protect businesses and individuals.
Britain is facing Europe’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak, with more than 44,000 confirmed deaths. While the pandemic eased during the summer months, infection rates, hospitalizations and deaths are now rising across the country.
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Johnson thanked people for their...
