£30bn coronavirus package announced in Budget 2020

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled a £30 billion package to help the economy get through the recent and ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

The speech in the House of Commons confirmed financial government support, including a £5 billion emergency response fund to support the NHS and other public services, plus a £500 million hardship fund to help vulnerable people.

As mooted in the days leading up to Sunak’s first budget speech, delivered just a month after being handed the Exchequer job, the government is also ensuring that statutory sick pay will be paid to all those who choose to self-isolate, even if they don't have symptoms, and that contributory employment Support Allowance benefit claimants will be able to claim sick pay on day one, not after a week, as is usually the case. Additionally, sick notes will be available by contacting NHS 111.

Furthermore, firms with fewer than 250 staff will be refunded for sick pay payments for two weeks, whilst those considered small firms will be able to access ‘business interruption’ loans of up to £1.2 million.

Aside from coronavirus-related policy announcements, the Budget 2020 also revealed that a plastic packaging tax will come into force from April 2022, with manufacturers and importers whose products have less than 30 per cent recyclable material now to be charged £200 per tonne.

Following on from Storms Ciara and Dennis, Sunak pledged £120 million in emergency relief for communities affected by this winter's flooding, alongside the already promised £200 million for flood resilience. A new ‘nature for climate fund’ will also see £640 million invested to protect natural habitats, including 30,000 hectares of new trees.

Sunak had billed the Budget as an infrastructure revolution, and his speech saw several announcements backed by large funding. This includes in excess of £600 billion to be spent on roads, rail, broadband and housing by the middle of 2025, with further details to be revealed, as well as £2.5 billion set to be made available to fix potholes and resurface roads over five years. Collectively, ministers argue that this represents the largest capital investment in infrastructure for generations.

As such, the government will provide additional funding worth £640 million for Scotland, £360 million for Wales and £210 million for Northern Ireland. Of particular notice, West Yorkshire will have a directly elected mayor who will share an extra £4.2 billion with other metro mayors for transport investment.

Sunak said that almost £1.1 billion of allocations from the housing infrastructure fund will be made to build almost 70,000 homes in high-demand areas. £650 million of funding will be made available to help rough sleepers into accommodation, whilst Sunak also promised a Grenfell building safety fund worth £1 billion.

As an eye-catching headline, Sunak stated that more than 750 staff from Treasury, business and trade departments will move to an economic campus in the north of England, with long-term plans for more than 22,000 civil servant roles to move outside central London.

The Chancellor revealed that fuel duty will remain frozen for another year, which means a saving of £1,200 since 2010, but at a cost of more than £100 billion to the exchequer.