Sunak extends lifelines for businesses but more may yet be required

The new April end date for the furlough and other schemes creates a cliff edge that needs tapering. The worst-hit sectors may also require further assistance, writes James Moore

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended emergency pandemic support for struggling businesses  (Reuters)

With large parts of the country under what basically amounts to a soft lockdown, the government had little choice but to extend both the furlough scheme and the various loan schemes designed to help businesses weather the current storm until April.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak no doubt shuddered when he looked at the potential cost but he will have known that the the cost of not acting was higher still both economically and politically.

The imposition of tier 3 restrictions on London and a hefty chunk of southern England, in addition to Yorkshire, the northwest and the midlands, meant a hospitality apocalypse was looming. It may still be on the way.