The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced that the job retention scheme will be extended to the end of March 2021 as the government grapples with the spread of Covid-19 and the impact of the second lockdown on businesses.

“As we saw from the first lockdown, the economic effects are much longer lasting for businesses and areas than the duration of any restrictions,” Sunak told the House of Commons on 5 November. He also cited the Bank of England's warning earlier on the same day that the economic recovery has slowed and the risks are skewed to the downside.