// Government-backed loans to alleviate the Covid-19 impact on businesses have topped £31bn
// Almost 750,000 companies had seen loans approved by May 31
The government-backed loans introduced to support workers’ wages amid the Covid-19 pandemic have reportedly topped £31 billion.
Three government-backed loan schemes for UK businesses have paid out more than £31 billion to date, according to updated Treasury data, Sky News reported.
Almost 750,000 companies had seen loans approved by May 31 under the emergency Covid-19 funding initiatives; the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) and Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).
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The data from the Treasury showed that £31.3 billion had been paid out by banks – up from £27.5 billion a week ago.
The growth continued to be led by demand for the BBLS, in which sums – 100 per cent guaranteed by the government – can be borrowed up to a maximum of £50,000.
The Treasury said £21.3 billion had been dispersed by lenders to 699,354 companies.
The total number of applications for bounce back loans stood at more than 873,000.
A sum of £8.9 billion had been lent to nearly 46,000 companies under CBILS, and a further £1.1 billion to 191 companies as part of CLBILS.
Meanwhile, the number of workers’ wages being supported by the furlough scheme had topped 8.7 million – up from 8.4 million a week earlier – to which the Treasury put the cost at £17.5 billion to date.
The Office for Budget Responsibility has estimated that the total cost of the taxpayers’ support is expected to top £120 billion.
Last week, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced changes to the Job Retention Scheme allowing businesses to bring back staff part-time from July, but introduce a taper requiring firms to contribute to salaries from August.
The scheme itself is to be closed at the end of October.
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