What was in the chancellor's statement?published at 17:58 British Summer Time 8 July 2020
That's the end of our live coverage of the chancellor's economic update today.
Below is a selection of the key announcements - you can read a full summary here - and here's our news story.
- The chancellor confirmed the furlough scheme will end in October
- A new Jobs Retention Bonus will be introduced for businesses to retain staff. They’ll be paid £1,000 for every furloughed employee they keep on up to January 2021
- A £2bn “kickstart” scheme to help create job placements for 16-24 year olds for six months
- VAT will be cut from 20% to 5% from 13 July to 12 January 2021 for some areas
- Food and non-alcoholic drinks in restaurants, pubs and cafes, will be covered as well as hot takeaway food
- Hotels, B&Bs, and theme park and cinemas will also benefit
- "Eat out to help out" scheme offers 50% discount for every diner, up to £10 a head, from Monday to Wednesday throughout August
- The threshold for stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland will rise from £125,000 to £500,000 on residential property sold between 8 July 2020 and 31 March 2021