UK Businesses Urge Government to Extend COVID-19 Furlough Scheme

Pedestrians walk along an empty shopping street in Leeds, northern England, on Jan. 6, 2021, on the second day of Britain's national lockdown to combat the spread of COVID-19. Oli Scarff /AFP via Getty Images

The UK government should extend its business support measures before the next budget to help firms through the ongoing CCP virus lockdown, a leading British business group said on Tuesday.

In a letter to Rishi Sunak, the chancellor of the Exchequer, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) urged the government to extend the Job Retention Scheme to the end of June, give firms more time to pay VAT bills, and extend the business rates holiday.