Last updated, 1st June 2020

PPA calls to make the CJRS more flexible to allow part time work and the phasing of the withdrawal of support to avoid a cliff edge this summer have been answered by the government, with the Chancellor announcing new rules.

The Chancellor announced today an extension of the Job Retention Scheme until the end of October. BEIS have also released ‘COVID-19 secure’ guidance for workplaces, developed in consultation with industry, and the APA have issued their own guidelines for advertising production.

As the ongoing pandemic and fallout from COVID-19 continues to impact our businesses and lives, the PPA continues to support the publishing industry, specifically through our lobbying work.

A list of the rules that have been temporarily relaxed to make it easier for businesses to continue working through the disruption caused by coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Scottish Government has announced a £100 million fund to support the self-employed and SMEs, broken into three separate funds.

The Welsh Government has announced a £18 million package for creative industries, culture and sport sectors, to help relieve the immediate impact of COVID-19.

Government departments are hosting a series of free webinars to help businesses understand the support available.

UPDATED: Temporary change to postal arrangements on Saturday will be for a six-week period.

UPDATE: The government has taken steps on the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) to ensure that lenders have the confidence they need to process finance applications quickly, including removing the per lender portfolio cap for the government guarantee, and changing the viability tests that so that all banks will need to assess is whether a business was viable pre COVID-19

The Chancellor has announced the creation of Bounce Back Loans, for small businesses in need of loans of up to 50,000.