UK Finance Minister likely to announce £2 billion funds to revive virus-hit economy

While the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak has plunged the British economy drastically, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is all set to announce his next moves in a bid to prevent a wave of jobs cuts and overcome the unemployment crisis. According to an international media outlet, Sunak will be announcing a fund worth £2 billion on July 8 as several companies including Rolls Royce has announced redundancies and urged the UK minister to do more. 

Sunak believes that young people bear the brunt of most of the economic crisis and amid the pandemic, they are particularly at risk as they work in the sectors which have been disproportionately hit. Sunak’s new £2 billion funds, which is yet to be announced, is expected to create six-month work placement jobs for unemployed 16-to-24-year-olds and the largest ever rise in partly government-funded apprenticeships. According to reports, the new programme could help up to 300,000 young people into work. 

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£3 billion to support 100,000 jobs 

While Britain’s economy shrank by 25 per cent over the past two months and there has been a limited recovery for the hardest-hit sectors, the UK Finance Minister reportedly said that he will also be spending £3 billion in a bid to improve the energy efficiency of homes and public buildings which would support more than 100,000 jobs. Furthermore, the 40-year-old minister is also considering a cut to value-added tax or giving away vouchers to boost spending at restaurants and hospitality firms which are struggling to cope with social distancing rules. 

Furthermore, during the announcement at the parliament, Sunak is also expected to cut property purchase taxes which could jump-start the housing market. Amid such unprecedented times and COVID-19 lockdowns, UK has been struggling to revive its economy. Even though the government eased lockdown measures and reopened retail shops, the number of shoppers visiting is still reportedly down by nearly 50 per cent from a year ago. Moreover, Sunak’s new £2 billion funds come as several experts believe that the country’s economy might shrink more than 10 per cent this year. 

(Image: AP) 

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