people's wages up to 80% of the normal amount, he said, and will review the UK's economic situation in January to decide whether or not to ask firms to contribute to the scheme.
"I also want to reassure the people of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland," he said, as the furlough scheme was delivered by the UK government which will, he said, continue to do so.
Under the government’s tiered approach, workers in areas subject to the most stringent measures are entitled to receive 67 per cent of their normal salary, up to a maximum of £2,100 per month.
The extension applies to all devolved nations, where governance on healthcare is independent. While England has today entered a national lockdown, Wales is reaching the end of a 17-day firebreak, Scotland recently introduced a 5-tier alert system, and Northern Ireland is three weeks into a four-week partial lockdown.
It will go some lengths to attenuate tensions that have built up between Whitehall and Northern MPs, who have raised concerns that a return to a tiered system could see their constituencies remain under strict restrictions, leading to more hardship should there be no further financial support.
Recent negotiations on support for Greater Manchester fell through when the minimum threshold requested by Mayor Andy Burnham was turned down.
Under this month's scheme, it is expected that the number of furloughed workers in the UK will more than double to almost 5.5 million people. Altogether, approximately 9.6 million people have benefited from the scheme at one time or another.
