Nightclubs have been handed a lifeline by the government after it extended the Job Support Scheme to closed venues.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak revealed that venues such as nightclubs and stripclubs, which have been closed since March, will be able to receive grants for up to two thirds of their workers' wages.
However, the UK-wide six-month scheme will only apply to businesses forced to close as a result of local lockdowns or national restrictions.
The scheme, which is due to start on November 1, will offer grants of up to £2,100 a month per worker.
Pubs which have had their opening hours restricted by local lockdowns will not be eligible for the support.
Find out if you qualify for the Job Support Scheme here
English boozers under the national 10pm curfew will also not be able to claim the grants.
However, venues which have been told to stop serving food and drink indoors will be entitled to them - even if they are still serving outside or as a takeaway.
Mr Sunak said: "Throughout the crisis the driving force of our economic policy has not changed.
“I have always said that we will do whatever is necessary to protect jobs and livelihoods as the situation evolves.
“The expansion of the Job Support Scheme will provide a safety net for businesses across the UK who are required to temporarily close their doors, giving them the right support at the right time.”
It comes after the Chancellor announced that his furlough scheme, renamed the Job Retention Scheme, would finish at the end of October.
The furlough scheme provided 80 per cent of workers' wages up to a maximum of £2,500 a month.
Nightclub and stripclub workers were previously not eligible for the Job Support Scheme as workers were only qualified if their employers could afford to send them back to work, for at least a third of their normal hours.
Julian Knight, chairman of the Commons Culture Committee, previously said: "It leaves many hundreds of thousands of workers in events, arts and cultural parts of the economy with a grim future."
