Coronavirus: CBI warns of 'race against time' to save firms from collapse
The business lobby group said companies were under "unrelenting" pressure and the pace of help for those at risk must be raised.
Thursday 23 April 2020 23:40, UK
The CBI has demanded that ministers beef up help for businesses in a "race against time" to save jobs and livelihoods.
Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, the CBI's director-general, said government intervention had already saved millions of jobs but that a "new wave of support" was needed.
It came hours after figures showing £2.8bn has been advanced to struggling small and medium-sized businesses under a Treasury-backed scheme - which has been criticised for being too slow.
More than 16,000 loans have been approved under the scheme but that compares to an estimated 300,000 companies that have expressed an interest.
The CBI said the figures highlighted the need to "accelerate the delivery" of existing support at a time when many firms were facing "unrelenting" pressure - with the latest data painting a dire picture of the economic outlook.
It wants to see faster and simpler access for smaller firms to loans worth less than £25,000 as well as an increase in the government guarantee from 80% to 100% for loans up to £500,000 under the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS).
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The business lobby group also wants companies to be given more time to pay back such loans and is also calling for streamlined documentation similar to that seen in Germany and Switzerland - countries seen to have performed much better than the UK in rolling out similar initiatives.
Dame Carolyn said: "The current loan scheme is up, running and working for many.
"Now we need another big push to get money out the door faster.
"This is a race against time, and the only winning strategy is scale, speed and simplicity.
"A new wave of support is vital to local communities and our small and mid-sized businesses.
"Helping firms that have fallen through the cracks will protect jobs and livelihoods as the crisis unfolds and ensure a solid foundation to build on.
"It is far more cost effective to stop businesses collapsing now than create jobs in the future.
"The greater the number of companies helped to survive, the sooner the UK economy can restart and revive."
It comes after latest data showing a huge slump in business activity and a warning that the UK could face its biggest economic rout for centuries.
The government has set aside hundreds of billions of pounds to help cushion the economy against the blow - including its CBILS scheme as well as assistance for companies to pay workers who have been temporarily laid off during the lockdown.
Figures on Thursday showed 435,000 firms had made claims worth £3.75bn and covering 3.2 million employees under the latter initiative.
In another measure to help struggling businesses, the government has also set out plans to stop landlords trying to evict or wind up firms due to non-payment of rent during the crisis.