CBI @10am: Lockdown stocktake: what your business needs to know

Speakers:

• James Harding, Co-Founder and Editor, Tortoise Media (Chair)
• Matthew Fell, Chief UK Policy Director, CBI
• Annie Gascoyne, Director of Economic Policy, CBI
• Cllr James Jamieson, Chairman, Local Government Association

Overview:

Matthew Fell:

• The government have confirmed that the furlough scheme has been re-instated up to March 2021, which is good – the CBI has been asking for a longer-term timescale so businesses can plan ahead
• It’s important to remember that only about 10% of the economy is definitively closed
• The Job Retention Scheme (JRS) will run to March, but the government have assured us that the lockdown will end in December. So, the key question is around the exit strategy after 2 December. Most are assuming we go back into the tiered system. The CBI is seeking further clarity on this
• Businesses see mass testing as having huge potential. The CBI had conversations with the government about this last week, and they’re engaged and listening to suggestions. At the moment, the government is thinking about sectors/businesses they can prioritise – such as food, energy and logistics
• If we focus on enabling industries, everyone across the economy benefits
• The priorities now are:
  • Help those sectors who have been hardest hit
  • Put the whole business support offering in a longer-term timeframe
  • Clarity on the exit strategy
  • Incentives around testing and tracing
  • Focus on growth and investment.

Annie Gascoyne:

• Alongside the extension of the JRS, there’s also been an increase in the self-employed scheme from 55% to 80% to match the JRS
• There’s also been an extension of all existing loan schemes, and an extension of the application window to the end of January. Businesses are also able to top up to the maximum amount of previously taken bounce back loans
• There will be more funding for local authorities, and businesses are now able to access loans/grants through them. This has been a significant shift from the first lockdown when everything was done centrally
• The new JRS opens on 11 November, but there are some differences to before:
  • Employers must pay NI and pension contributions – around 5% of the cost of employing someone
  • The scheme is open to everyone – so it’s not closed to new entrants
  • From December, firms who access the scheme will have their names published
• Even though the scheme runs to March, it’ll be reviewed in January. So we could see some tapering of the scheme introduced before March – but this will be based on the economic situation in January.

Cllr James Jamieson:

• The new discretionary grants which have been given to local authorities are different, as they have a lot of local flexibility. But local authorities need clarity on when this money is expected to be spent
• The money is there to support businesses who aren’t technically eligible for grants – such as businesses who use shared office spaces, and those in distribution/supply chains to hospitality businesses
• COVID-19 has demonstrated that local government is much faster and more responsive than central government
• The LGA is seeing more support for a local approach, and they are huge proponents of devolution. Coordination between central government and local councils can make a huge difference
• On testing, we need to talk about ‘persuading’. People aren’t isolating. Test & Trace only works if people isolate. And there’s a big role for local authorities in getting it right.