Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak in the House of Commons 12th May 2020. Image: Live Parliament screen grab.

Government furlough scheme to continue until October

Councellor Rishi Sunak announced in Parliament that furloughed employees will continue to be paid until October this year.

He added that the level of support, which has been 80%, will not be reduced until at least the end of July.

The government will require employers to contribute to paying the remaining 20% of wages to employers.

The scheme was originally meant to last until the end of June, but Sunak says employers will be able to have employees work part-time between August and October.

3/ We will ask employers to start sharing, with the government, the costs of paying people’s salaries.

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) May 12, 2020

Coronavirus deaths at care homes are starting to decline, according to new figures

After reviewing death certificates, the number of deaths related to COVID-19 has decreased by 12%.

In the last week, roughly 2,800 deaths have occurred in care homes, bringing the total to nearly 10,000.

Looking at the data, there have been more recorded deaths than expected during the past two months with 50,000 deaths more than the estimation.

Courtesy of the BBC, citing the Office of National Statistics

Ryanair announces that passengers will be required to ask to use the toilet on flights.

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From the 1st of July, the carrier expects to reintroduce 40% of flights, subject to potential restrictions lifted and safety measures being introduced.

Queueing for the toilet will be banned on flights and passengers will be required to ask crew members to use the facilities.

Measures also include face masks worn by crew and passengers and cashless payments on-board.

Transport for London is expected to lose £4 billion.

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Whilst the government is guiding commuters to queue for public transport, the organisation said it will need £3.2bn to balance a proposed emergency budget for next year.

Congestion charges will not be reintroduced for at least another three weeks due to the loss of income.

90% of TfL’s income has been lost due to the UK lockdown.

Even though services are continuing, roughly 7,000 staff members (25% of the workforce) have been furloughed due to cut costs.