Extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has been extended until March 2021. The scheme operates on the same terms as the previous scheme and mirrors the levels of support available under the scheme in August–this means that the government will pay 80 per cent of wages up to a cap of £2,500 for hours not worked. Employers do not have to make any contribution to their employees’ wages for the hours not worked - they will only be asked to cover National Insurance and Employer pension contributions, which for the average claim accounts for just 5 per cent of total employment costs (or £70 per employee per month). Support for local businesses in England: Businesses which are forced to close due to the new restrictions will receive up to £3,000 per month–this is worth over £1 billion a month under the new national restrictions and will benefit over 600,000 businesses. Businesses in the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors that have been suffering from reduced demand for a while will receive back dated grants at 70 per cent of the value of closed grants (up to £2,100 per month) for this period. We are also providing one-off funding of £1.1 billion to local authorities to further support businesses more broadly over the coming months.