Chancellor Rishi Sunak announces £750m fund for charities

Joined at the press conference by Dame Professor Angela McLean and Professor Stephen Powis, the Chancellor said £60m of the fund will be funded to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The government will also match pound-for-pound the amount the public donates to the BBC’s Big Night In charity appeal.

Sunak also said the Prime Minister is receiving excellent care and his condition is improving in intensive care.

He added: “I can also tell you that he has been sitting up in bed and engaging positively with the clinical team.

“The Prime Minister is not only my colleague and my boss but also my friend, and my thoughts are with him and his family.”

Stephen Powis has urged the public to keep using the NHS in the event of an emergency.

He said: “The NHS has worked night and day to surge capacity to manage coronavirus but it’s also there for you if you have symptoms of a stroke, symptoms of a heart attack.

“Indeed if you have any emergency condition whether it’s a sick child, whether it’s a mother in pregnancy who’s worried about movements of the baby, you should be seeking emergency services just as you always have done.

“They are there for you and, although we are focusing on coronavirus, it’s important we continue to focus on other emergency conditions.”

Asked about unemployment figures, Rishi Sunak warned there will be hardship ahead.

He said: “I’ve been very clear and very honest that this will take a significant impact on our economy.

“In spite of what are unprecedented measures in scale and scope, I can’t stand here and say I can save every single job, protect every single business or indeed every single charity.

“That’s just simply not possible.”

Pressed about the lockdown, Mr Sunak said: “There will be a Cobra meeting tomorrow chaired by the First Secretary of State (Dominic Raab), involving the devolved administrations to talk about the approach to the review.

“We committed there would be a review in and around three weeks, that review will be based on the evidence and data provided by Sage, which will only be available next week.

“But I think rather than speculate about the future, I think we should focus very seriously on the here and now and the present.”

Mr Sunak said the priority is to stop the spread of the virus and insisted people should follow the advice to stay at home.

Powis, asked if the UK’s testing rate would lead to more deaths compared with other countries, stressed the importance of testing before saying it is ‘one part of a set of different things’ to be considered in any country’s strategy.

He added: “I think it is almost too early in all countries’ experience to know exactly which components of strategies have been the most effective or have been most important.

“It’s highly likely it’s the combination of these things rather than one any individual part of an approach.”

Asked when schools could reopen Sunak said: “In all these instances, we are driven and basing our decisions on the science and what is best for controlling the spread of this virus.

“I pay tribute to those who are helping keep our schools open for the children of key workers, that is valuable and the work that they’re doing is, I believe, well supported by the Department for Education.

“But they also are owed our thanks for doing that because that is vital at this time.”

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