Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the furlough scheme until March 2021.
Business meetings and events organisations will only be required to cover national insurance and pension contributions for employees who have been furloughed under the extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, similar to the previous arrangement, which was in place in August 2020.
The level of support will then be reviewed in January.
HBAA consultant executive director, Juliet Price welcomed the news and said: “The chancellor has given us clear longer-term information at an earlier stage so that the industry can plan ahead and not just wait with uncertainty until the end of lockdown."
Meetings Industry Association chief executive, Jane Longhurst added: "We are relieved to hear that Rishi Sunak is extending the furlough scheme UK-wide until 31 March and that the government will continue to cover 80 per cent of employees’ wages as it gives the financial assurance that will enable businesses to start planning for the longer-term."
Juliet PriceThe announcement came on the same day that the Meetings Industry Association confirmed meetings of up to 30 people are still permitted.
“Yes, it would have been better to have had this available and announced before many jobs were lost and businesses jeopardised. However, added to the news today that the revised guidance allows ‘necessary’ meetings for less than 30 to continue being held at permitted venues in England, we now have positive steps forward for many business events and meetings companies, their staff, and the self-employed,” added Price.
The Government also announced that extra funding under the Additional Restrictions Grant scheme was being issued to Local Authorities with clear guidance to help event businesses.
The guidance issued by central Government stated: “We encourage Local Authorities to develop discretionary grant schemes to help those businesses which – while not legally forced to close – are nonetheless severely impacted by the restrictions put in place to control the spread of Covid-19. This could include – for example – businesses which supply the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors, or businesses in the events sector.”
Price added that “it was a welcome relief to see special mention of the events industry sector in the government’s instruction to local authorities when distributing the discretionary funding pot.
“We need every possible support to keep all the talented people in our industry, including training them to work on hybrid and virtual meetings until major live events can begin again,” said Price.
The full Additional Restrictions Gran Guidance for Local Authorities can be viewed here.
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
