display
London (dpa) - The British government wants to support companies in the retail and hospitality industry with an aid package worth five billion pounds (around 5.8 billion euros).
"We know that companies especially in the hospitality, leisure, hotel and retail sectors have been affected by the restrictions and they will still be closed in the coming weeks and will only reopen slowly (...)," said British Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak on Sunday in an interview with the news channel Sky News.
The aid package should enable companies to keep employees and pay bills, Sunak said.
Individual companies could be supported with one-off payments of up to £ 18,000 (around 21,000 euros).
Around 650,000 companies across the country are expected to benefit from this.
display
Sunak plans to present its budget for the new financial year on Wednesday.
In addition to numerous reliefs, it is also expected that he will announce an increase in corporate tax.
On the other hand, protests arose from the opposition at the weekend.
Sunak has already felt headwinds from within its own ranks.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently put forward a plan for the gradual lifting of the UK lockdown.
All restrictions are to be lifted by June 21.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210228-99-627714 / 2
Tweet with video clip from Sunak's interview on Sky News