04
March
2021
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled his Budget and we've broken down the key points that affect golf clubs and golf club managers... furlough scheme extended The Government’s furlough scheme is being extended until the end of September. Outlining his Budget in the House of Commons, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said it was crucial to "protect the jobs and livelihoods of the British people through the remaining phase of this crisis". He said: "The furlough scheme will be extended until the end of September. For employees, there will be no change to the terms – they will continue to receive 80% of their salary, for hours not worked, until the scheme ends. "As businesses reopen, we’ll ask them to contribute alongside the taxpayer to the cost of paying their employees. "Nothing will change until July, when we will ask for a small contribution of just 10% and 20% in August and September. "The Government is proud of the furlough – one of the most generous schemes in the world, effectively protecting millions of people’s jobs and incomes." For more information, and to claim for an employee's wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, click here. RED DIESEL: GOLF COURSES TO BE EXEMPT FROM changes Golf courses have been exempted from changes to red diesel entitlement following a consultation carried out by Government. At last year's Budget, it was announced the right to use red diesel would be removed from most sectors from April 2022. The Government said it was to "ensure businesses pay for the harmful emissions they produce and to incentivise the development and adoption of greener alternatives". The subsequent consultation "sought views from current users of red diesel and rebated biofuels that will be affects by these tax changes, to make sure the government has not overlooked any exceptional reasons why other sectors [outside of agriculture, forestry, horticulture and fish farming] should be allowed to use red diesel beyond April 2022". They received more than 400 responses in a period that ran from last July until the start of October. Among those was a submission from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Golf. A consultation document revealed that responses from the sports sector suggested the "increase in their fuel costs for maintaining grounds and facilities would have to be passed on directly to members of these clubs, materially impacting the prices they pay to participate in the sporting activity, especially for amateur sports and golf. They suggested these increased costs would potentially lead to fewer people participating in sports". It concluded that: "In light of the arguments made by representatives from the sports sector that increased costs on their clubs would be passed down to members, the government accepts that removing the entitlement to use red diesel from amateur sports clubs, as well as all golf courses, could affect people’s ability to participate in sport and impact on health and well-being". The Government has decided to grant further entitlement to use red diesel for "amateur sports clubs as well as all... Please LOGIN to read the full article.
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