As at the 24th and 25th May 2020, the cumulative value of the grants and loans made to businesses through the government’s emergency coronavirus interventions was just shy of £50bn.
Amongst these were £600,000 approved bounce-back loans with an aggregate value of £18.5bn – more than the cumulative value, to date, of furloughing grants – and £2.3m SEISS awards. If all of the latter were awarded to sole traders, this would equate to two-thirds (66%) of early 2019 recorded number being in receipt of an award.
Data from the Resolution Foundation suggests that as at 6 -11th May 2020, almost seven in ten agency workers were continuing to work. Just one in ten had lost their job, a further 12% were furloughed and 9% has experienced reduced hours and pay.
