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Spring Budget – Key points for businesses

10th March 2021

Covid support for jobs and businesses  

  • Extending furlough until September, helping millions of people through the challenging months ahead.  
  • Expanding and extending our self-employment support schemes with two further grants, so that more people can get the support they need.  
  • £5 billion to help the high street recover, ensuring the hardest-hit businesses have the support they need through the next stage of recovery.  
  • £5 billion for new Restart Grants – a one off cash grant of up to £18,000 for hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym businesses in England.  
  • A new UK-wide Recovery Loan Scheme to make available loans between £25,001 and £10 million, and asset and invoice finance between £1,000 and £10 million, to help businesses of all sizes through the next stage of recovery.  
  • 750,000 eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in England will benefit from business rates relief.  
  • Small and medium-sized employers in the UK will continue to be able to reclaim up to two weeks of eligible Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) costs per employee from the Government.  
  • Extension of loss carry back rules worth up to £760,000 per company.   

Creating job opportunities and supporting people on lower incomes  

  • Six-month extension of the £20 per week Universal Credit uplift in Great Britain  
  • A one-off payment of £500 to eligible Working Tax Credit claimants across the UK.   
  • Extension to the VAT cut to 5% for hospitality, accommodation and attractions across the UK until the end of September, followed by a 12.5% rate for a further six months until 31 March 2022.  
  • Extension of the apprenticeship hiring incentive in England to September 2021 and an increase of payment to £3,000. 
  • £7 million for a new “flexi-job” apprenticeship programme in England, that will enable apprentices to work with a number of employers in one sector.  
  • Additional £126 million for 40,000 more traineeships in England, funding high quality work placements and training for 16-24 year olds in 2021/22 academic year.  

Build back better 

  • Beginning April 2021, the new super-deduction will cut companies’ tax bill by 25p for every pound they invest in new equipment.   
  • Publication of the government’s ‘Build Back Better: our plan for growth’.  

Levelling up across the country

  • Publication of the prospectus for the £4.8 billion UK-wide Levelling Up Fund, providing guidance for local areas on how to submit bids for the first round of funding starting in 21-22.  

Research and Development   

  • A new Help to Grow scheme to offer up to 130,000 companies across the UK a digital and management boost.  

Further and local investment  

  • Launching a review of Research & Development tax reliefs to make sure the UK remains a competitive location for cutting-edge research.  
  • Over £1 billion funding for a further 45 towns in England through the Towns Fund, supporting their long-term economic and social regeneration as well as their immediate recovery from the impacts of COVID-19.  
  • £150 million Community Ownership Fund will allow communities across the UK to invest to protect the assets that matter most to them such as pubs, theatres, shops, or local sports clubs.

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