Sunak must do more to help lockdown-battered businesses

Grants for beleaguered sectors will help but firms are facing a cashflow chasm, writes James Moore

The chancellor had to act quickly after Johnson’s belated restrictions (REUTERS)

Has Rishi Sunak done enough to prevent an explosion in insolvencies?  

The chancellor had to act quickly after Boris Johnson belatedly imposed the lockdown we are now in. It was swiftly followed by the announcement of grants worth up to £9,000 – for the retail, hospitality and leisure sector – which could benefit as many as 600,000 businesses and are linked to property.

They will cost £4bn. In addition, a £594m discretionary fund to support other firms hit by the coronavirus was announced.