THE UK Treasury has announced grants of up to £9000 per property will be offered to retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in Airdrie and Coatbridge amid the latest lockdown to hit both towns.
A total of 600,000 businesses across Britain are expected to be supported by the move, at a cost of £4 billion, in a bid to help them survive the prospect of remaining closed over the coming weeks, with the lockdown in mainland Scotland set to run until at least the end of this month.
Meanwhile, a further £594 million will be made available to councils and devolved nations to help businesses not covered by these grants.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “The new strain of the virus presents us all with a huge challenge.
“And whilst the vaccine is being rolled out, we have needed to tighten restrictions further.
“Throughout the pandemic we’ve taken swift action to protect lives and livelihoods and we’re announcing a further cash injection to support businesses and jobs through until the spring.
“This will help businesses to get through the months ahead – and, crucially, it will help sustain jobs, so workers can be ready to return when they are able to reopen.”
Despite the ongoing costs of the coronavirus response hitting above £300 billion, Mr Sunak has also refused to rule out keeping the furlough scheme going beyond the end of April, saying he would “take stock” during the Budget in March.
He added: “We’re having a Budget early in March, and all of our economic support runs through to this spring.
‘So, I think the budget in early March is an excellent opportunity to take stock of the range of support that we’ve put in place, and to set out the next stage, our economic response to coronavirus at that particular time.”
