Today the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, gave their first daily press release where they announced extra measures for businesses and support for individuals. Whilst there are still questions unanswered, and I believe the government must still go further with support for the self-employed and those in creative, hospitality and entertainments businesses, I include below the further measures which will support some businesses in the constituency:

• A total of £330bn of loan guarantees to businesses will be made available.
• There is an agreed lending facility with the Bank of England to support liquidity amongst larger firms.
• For smaller firms, the government will extend the business interruption loan scheme which will offer loans up to £5million. Both schemes will be running by next week and if you need support to access these please get in touch.
• Last week, the government announced that some firms with under 250 people would have to pay no business rates this year. These businesses are eligible for grants of up to £25,000.
• There will be no business rates for all firms in the hospitality or retail sector for this year.
• The £3,000 grant for the smallest businesses (who are not eligible for business rates) will now go up to £10,000. These are accessed through the local authority.
• There will be a three-month mortgage holiday to people who need help.
• There have been no measures announced for private renters. This is something I will continue to campaign for. We expect that there will be further measures soon.
• The government have said this morning that they will go further to support self-employed workers over the couple of days.

You can see the full statement here.

In other news:

• Travel: British nationals should avoid all non-essential foreign travel to tackle the spread of coronavirus, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has advised.
• Hospitality: Planning rules have been relaxed so pubs and restaurants can operate as hot food takeaways.
• Insurance: The government announced that for all organisations with an insurance policy covering pandemics, the government’s health advice about avoiding venues and events does not give you grounds for a claim. Please get in touch to let us know what that means for you.

The health advice remains largely the same as previously announced:

• Anyone with a fever or persistent cough should stay at home for seven days if they live alone or 14 days if they live with others. Anyone who lives with someone displaying coronavirus symptoms should also stay at home for 14 days. People who have to isolate themselves should ask others for help.
• Everyone should stop non-essential contact with others. This is particularly important for people over 70, those with underlying health conditions and pregnant women
• People should work from home where they can.
• People should avoid places like pubs, clubs and theatres. This applies especially to those in London which is “a few weeks ahead” of the rest of the UK.
• People should stop all unnecessary travel.
• By the weekend, those with the most serious health conditions should be largely shielded from social contact for 12 weeks.