| It’s starting to feel like March all over again, and not just because it's turned chilly. Tomorrow England will once again enter a national lockdown, with holidays, jobs and investments all in the firing line. But, this time, support will be far less generous.
To protect employees, the furlough scheme has been extended by one month. It will revert back to the original one announced in March and will cover 80pc of wages capped at 2,500 per month. However the Government announced the extension just one day before furlough was due to end, meaning that many businesses had already laid off staff, fearing a second round of disruption. In theory, they could hire them back – but how many will?
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has increased the amount freelancers will receive via the next round of self-employed support grants. They will now be eligible for 55pc of typical profits for the three months between November and February, up from 40pc as initially planned. The maximum they can receive is 5,160. Yet this is still far less than they received in the first round of funding, which covered them for 80pc of profits, up to 7,500.
For those whose incomes are hurt by the new restrictions, some help is on offer. Mortgage holidays have been extended. Those who haven’t yet deferred payments can do so for up to six months. Those who have can extend their payment holiday until they hit the six-month maximum. After that, they will need to negotiate with their lender for extra support.
Those in debt should also be able to delay repayments, the City regulator has said. But they should be careful about taking up this offer, as interest will still be charged.
Another group that will be nervous about a second lockdown is home movers. While the Government has said that viewings, valuations and surveys can all go ahead in England, people are likely to face long delays.
Banks have been struggling to cope with requests for support from current mortgage customers as well as dealing with new business. The second round of mortgage holidays will pile on more pressure and could mean that buyers do not complete before the stamp duty cut off at the end of March.
As for investors, those in it for the long-term should sit tight, analysts have said. Markets are falling, with those companies that would suffer directly under a second lockdown particularly hard hit. However savvy investors could actually see these share price falls as a reason to buy. Otherwise they could take a punt on these four stocks that were surprising beneficiaries of the first lockdown and should continue to do well a second time around.
The first season of the Telegraph's stock picking game has finished. Luckily there is not long to wait until the next game, which is due to start later this month. It will be open to Telegraph subscribers only. Subscribe now and pay just 1 a month for three months.
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