(Reuters) – British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak will announce a local furlough scheme on Friday in which the government will subsidise two thirds of the wages of workers in pubs, restaurants and other businesses that are forced to close to stop the spread of the coronavirus, The Times newspaper reported bit.ly/33FH8yg.

“Employers will be able to access the scheme for as long as pubs, restaurants and other businesses are closed,” the newspaper’s deputy political editor, Steven Swinford, said on Twitter.

The Times quoted an unidentified minister as saying there was frustration in government at the failure of the Treasury to bring forward the measures sooner.

The Daily Mail newspaper reported earlier that Sunak was putting together a new support package for jobs in a furlough-style bailout for coronavirus hotspots

Adds COVID-19 background, remarks from minister cited by The Times

Oct 9 (Reuters) – British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak will announce a local furlough scheme on Friday in which the government will subsidise two thirds of the wages of workers in pubs, restaurants and other businesses that are forced to close to stop the spread of the coronavirus, The Times newspaper reported.

“Employers will be able to access the scheme for as long as pubs, restaurants and other businesses are closed,” the newspaper’s deputy political editor, Steven Swinford, said on Twitter.

The Times quoted an unidentified minister as saying there was frustration in government at the failure of the Treasury to bring forward the measures sooner.

The Daily Mail newspaper reported earlier that Sunak was putting together a new support package for jobs in a furlough-style bailout for coronavirus hotspots plunged into local lockdowns next week.

Britain has