the bbc‘s business editor, simonjack, reports from the north east of england — the region most dependentsands of manufacturing businesses who count the eu as their most important customer. two thirds of all exports from this region go to europe and covid—battered businesses like this maker of electric vehicle components, have less than 100 days to get ready for the biggest change in that trade for decades. it's been an absolute nightmare, the last six months, to try and run the business and keep the business going. it's been really, really difficult, but we've also now got brexit as well coming. the stress in the situation for us, for me anyway, comes from, like, i think that i should be planning and doing more but i don't know what i should be doing. that lack of readiness is not surprising, according to the local chamber of commerce. businesses aren't as prepared as they should be in this region, primarily because they haven't got the information they need to prepare fully and properly. there's so many unanswered questions and really fundamental ones. it's never too late to offer suppo

here‘s our business editor simonjack.or weddings and conferences — or at least it was. and here we have our reception today. a beautiful day in scotland... but for the lack of customers. the boss says a new package postponing tax and vat bills will help the business, but wage subsidies for staff working shorter hours won‘t change employment decisions. we simply can‘t afford to pay one third of an employee‘s time just to make that hour up in order to benefit from the newjob retention scheme. it just doesn‘t work for us financially. we can‘t afford it. however, the vat deferral, the reduction deferral, is very, very welcome, as is the repayment of loans and the extension of repayment of vat and tax bills, that is very, very welcome. thejob support scheme unveiled yesterday by the chancellor is less generous than the furlough scheme which ends at the end of october, but it‘s still expected to cost billions. this morning, we got a reminder ofjust how much money the government is having to borrow. in august alone, to pay for f

our business editor simonjack has more details.generation of young workers whose prospects have been hit hardest by the biggest economic shock in nearly a century. their futures are now looking less bright. lois, pictured here, was due to start a job at a holiday camp — that role no longer exists. she hopes the kickstarter scheme can help. loads of people are being made redundant and especially as a college leaver, jobs are so hard to come by at the moment. as a young person that has just finished college, it's an amazing opportunity for me to get out there, build up skills on my cv and hopefully maybe get a job out of it, and sort of, you know, keep in the working way and still earn some money from it. the scheme is available to under 25 who are claiming universal credit. the government will pay national minimum wage for up to 25 hours a week for six months, plus employers‘ national insurance contributions. there are also grants of £1,500 available to employers to cover their set—up costs. the £2 billion the treasury has earmarked

the bbc‘s business editor, simonjack, reports from the north east of england — the region most dependentnufacturing businesses who count the eu as their most important customer. two thirds of all exports from this region go to europe and covid—battered businesses like this maker of electric vehicle components, have less than 100 days to get ready for the biggest change in that trade for decades. it's been an absolute nightmare, the last six months, to try and run the business and keep the business going. it's been really, really difficult, but we've also now got brexit as well coming. the stress in the situation for us, for me anyway, comes from, like, i think that i should be planning and doing more but i don't know what i should be doing. that lack of readiness is not surprising, according to the local chamber of commerce. businesses aren't as prepared as they should be in this region, primarily because they haven't got the information they need to prepare fully and properly. there's so many unanswered questions and really fundamental ones. it's never too late to offer support and make

our business editor, simonjack, reports. # ave maria... # the performances may look beautiful.k ugly. even when it reopens, sadler‘s wells will be grappling with a massive reduction in capacity, which means the sums just don't add up. for our sector, at the moment, we can do socially distanced performances, which means we cut our capacity down to 30%. now, that doesn't work economically. as government support wears off, the pressure piles on, and that's why the company is laying off over 200 part—time employees and 50 permanentjobs are risk. when we're looking at our budget for this year and you take 80% out of the income stream and you look at the figures, then you go further and further into the red as each month goes, as the furloughing scheme stops. so, at this point, we have to make decisions about whether we're actually going to survive or not. this is an important moment for the government. it's when it begins, in earnest, to start peeling back the plasters it has put on the economy to save it from damage — peel it back, see just how deep the economic damage is. but with

here's our business editor, simonjack. venue for weddings and conferences — or at least it was. and here we have our reception today. a beautiful day in scotland... but for the lack of customers. the boss says a new package postponing tax and vat bills will help the business, but wage subsidies for staff working shorter hours won't change employment decisions. we simply can't afford to pay one third of an employee's time just to make that hour up, in order to benefit from the newjob retention scheme. it just doesn't work for us financially. we can't afford it. however, the vat deferral, the reduction deferral, is very, very welcome, as is the repayment of loans, the extension of repayment of vat and tax bills, that is very welcome. thejob support scheme, unveiled yesterday by the chancellor, is less generous than the furlough scheme, which ends at the end of october, but it's still expected to cost billions. this morning, we got a reminder ofjust how much money the government is having to borrow. in august alone, to pay fo

lets stay with that story, because our business editor simonjack has been getting some reaction fromut he fears manyjobs in the retail industry will prove unviable as the pandemic accelerates the shift to online shopping. well, by our calculations, in our particular case we do not think we will needed. we think by the time it gets to the end of october, there will be enough work in the normal build up enough work in the normal build up to christmas to employ all of the people we have currently got on, on for the low —— furlough. we have about 10%. but we think other sectors desperately well. it is important employees begin to pay a little bit more for these schemes and employees get a little bit less, otherwise i think there is a risk the economy will not work. the number of people who come into the shop will determine how many people you can employee. yes, it is the employer, that is just reflecting underlying from the consumer. a lot of people are saying with this permanent looking shift online, live the unviable jobs are in retail, is that right? i think thatis retail, is that rig

here's our business editor, simonjack.it gets to the end of october, there'll be enough work through the normal build—up to christmas to employ all the people we've currently got on furlough. we've got less than 10% of our staff on furlough, so we don't think we'll need it, but we think other sectors desperately will. we think it's important that employers begin to pay a little bit more for these schemes, and that employers get a little bit less because otherwise i think there's a risk that our economy willjust become hooked on it. ultimately, the consumers, the numbers of people coming into the shop, are going to determine how many people you can employ. so, yes, it's the employer, but all the employer's really doing is reflecting underlying demand from the consumer. a lot of people say with this permanent looking shift online, a lot of the unviable jobs are in retail. is that right? i think that is right, yes. and i wouldn't want to underestimate the difficulty that's going to cause a lot of people who work in retail. i

here's our business editor simonjack. lack of customers. the boss says a new package postponing tax and vat bills will help the business, but wage subsidies for staff working shorter hours won't change employment decisions. we simply can't afford to pay one third of an employee's time just to make that hour up, in order to benefit from the newjob retention scheme. it just doesn't work for us financially. we can't afford it. however, the vat deferral, the reduction deferral, is very, very welcome, as is the repayment of loans, the extension of repayment of vat and tax bills, that is very welcome. thejob support scheme, unveiled yesterday by the chancellor, is less generous than the furlough scheme, which ends at the end of october, but it's still expected to cost billions. this morning, we got a reminder ofjust how much money the government is having to borrow. in august alone, to pay for furlough, support for the self—employed, while deferring income from vat and business rates, the government had to borrow £36 billion. t

our business editor simonjack has more details.ose prospects have been hit hardest by the biggest economic shock in nearly a century. their futures are now looking less bright. lois, pictured here, was due to start a job at a holiday camp — that role no longer exists. she hopes the kickstarter scheme can help. loads of people are being made redundant and especially as a college leaver, jobs are so hard to come by at the moment. as a young person that has just finished college, it's an amazing opportunity for me to get out there, build up skills on my cv and hopefully maybe get a job out of it, and sort of, you know, keep in the working way and still earn some money from it. the scheme is available to under 25 who are claiming universal credit. the government will pay national minimum wage for up to 25 hours a week for six months, plus employers' national insurance contributions. there are also grants of £1,500 available to employers to cover their set—up costs. the £2 billion the treasury has earmarked for the scheme, on paper coul