Last checked at 
(Recasts after Sunak statement)
By David Milliken and William James
LONDON, Oct 22 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rishi
Sunak on Thursday was forced to offer more financial help to
businesses grappling with a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic,
which looks increasingly likely to derail the economic recovery.
Sunak told parliament the government will shoulder more of
the burden for paying employees' wages for businesses that are
still open but experiencing difficulty, and offer more money to
hospitality companies.
The move marks a turnaround for Sunak after he long resisted
calls to extend the generosity of government support schemes.
Opponents have said it was obvious that more help was needed and
that it should have come sooner.
Britain - the worst-hit European nation during the COVID-19
pandemic with more than 44,000 related deaths - is now seeing a
second wave of the virus, recording 26,688 new cases and 191
deaths on Wednesday.
"I've always said that we must be ready to adapt our
financial support as the situation evolves, and that is what we
are doing today. These changes mean that our support will reach
many more people and protect many more jobs," Sunak said.
Some sectors are now in dire straits. An official survey
published earlier on Thursday showed more than a third of
hospitality companies are at risk of going bust.
Sunak said he would offer a new grant to hospitality
businesses worth 2,100 pounds per month that can be claimed
retrospectively to August.
He also tweaked the Job Support Scheme designed to dissuade
businesses from making people redundant and instead keep workers
on reduced hours.
Businesses will now have to pay 5% of the cost of wages for
unworked hours, compared with 33% previously.
Following criticism that the government had done too little
to help self-employed people, Sunak said he would double the
next grants for the self-employed to 20% to 40% of their
previous incomes.
"I hope the government's stepped-up support can be part of
the country pulling together in the coming months," Sunak said.
(Writing by Andy Bruce; editing by Sarah Young)
