07/04/2020: Tom Kiehl, acting chief executive officer, UK Music, has written about the gaps UK Music feels have appeared within Government support for the self-employed impacted by coronavirus.
He writes: ‘The British music industry was encouraged by Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s pledge to ‘stand behind businesses large and small’ when he unveiled Government loans worth £330 billion to tackle the coronavirus crisis.
‘Measures such as the extension of business rate relief as well as grants for both the employed and self-employed will be vital tools for many who face a battle for survival. However, worrying gaps are emerging in the unprecedented package revealed by the Chancellor last month in what he called the ‘economic fight against coronavirus’.
‘Almost a fifth of UK small and medium-sized businesses – an estimated one million firms – are at risk of collapse within the next month as they struggle to secure emergency funding from the Government and banks. The cash crisis could put up to four million jobs at risk.'
‘In another worrying sign, 950,000 people have applied for universal credit in the last fortnight, reflecting the big fall in income as well as a surge in unemployment as firms go bust or lay off staff because they cannot wait for the Treasury’s retention scheme to start paying out.
Read the full article at M Magazine here.
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