The Chancellor's Summer Statement

Rishi Sunak has delivered the Chancellor’s Summer Statement. This is a summary of the main points.

Job Retention Bonus

This is a one-off payment of £1,000 to employers that have used the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for each furloughed employee who remains continuously employed until 31‌‌‌ ‌January 2021.

To be eligible, employees will need to:

earn at least £520 per month (above the Lower Earnings Limit) on average for November, December and January
have been furloughed at any point and legitimately claimed for under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
have been continuously employed up until at least 31‌‌‌ ‌January 2021.

Employers will be able to claim the bonus from February 2021 once accurate RTI data to 31‌‌‌ ‌January has been received. More information about this scheme will be available by 31‌‌‌ ‌July and full guidance will be published in the Autumn.

Eat Out to Help Out Scheme

During August, diners can get 50% off meals and non-alcoholic drinks when eating at participating restaurants, bars, cafes and other establishments that have registered for the scheme. This will apply between Monday and Wednesday and be worth up to £10 per person

VAT reduction

From the 15th of‌‌‌ ‌July until the 12th of‌‌‌ ‌January 2021, the UK Government will cut VAT from 20% to 5% on any eat-in or hot takeaway food and drinks from restaurants, cafes and pubs, excluding alcohol. This VAT reduction also applies to all holiday accommodation in hotels, B&Bs, campsites and caravan sites, as well as attractions like cinemas, theme parks and zoos

Increase in the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) threshold

This applies in England and Northern Ireland and will increase the threshold under which no SDLT is paid on the purchase of a main home from £125,000 to £500,000, with immediate effect until 31‌‌‌ ‌March 2021.

For more information on any of this, search ‘plan for jobs’ on GOV‌‌‌.UK.

Protect yourself from scams

Stay vigilant about scams, which may mimic government messages as a way of appearing authentic and unthreatening. Don’t give out private information or reply to text messages, and don’t download attachments in emails you weren’t expecting. Search ‘scams’ on GOV‌.UK for information on how to recognise genuine HMRC contact. You can also forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk and texts to 60599.