Worried about their health, the health of their loved ones,

their jobs, their income, their businesses, their financial security.

For a period it's going to be tough

but I'm confident that our economic performance will recover.

Taken together, the extraordinary measures I have set out today

represent seven billion pounds to support the self-employed,

businesses and vulnerable people.

To support the NHS and other public services,

I am also setting aside today a five billion pound Emergency Response Fund

and I will go further if necessary.

Whether it's research for a vaccine, recruiting thousands of returning staff,

or supporting our brilliant doctors and nurses,

whether it's millions of pounds or billions of pounds, whatever it needs

whatever it costs, we stand behind our NHS.

Statutory sick pay will also be available for all those who are advised

to self isolate, even if they haven't yet presented with symptoms.

And rather than having to go to the doctors,

you will soon be able to obtain a sick note by contacting 111.

But of course not everyone is eligible for statutory sick pay

There are millions of people working hard, who are self-employed

or in the gig economy. They will need our help too.

So, to support them during this period we will make it quicker and easier

to access benefits.

Those on contributory employment and support allowance

will be able to claim from day one instead of day eight.

And to make sure that time spent off work due to sickness

is reflected in your benefits, I'm also temporarily removing

the minimum income floor in universal credit.

And I'm relaxing the requirement for anyone

to physically attend a job centre.

Everything can be done by phone or online.

I am also creating a £500m hardship fund,

distributed to local authorities who will be able to use that fund

to directly support vulnerable people in their local area.

For businesses with fewer than 250 employees,

I have decided that the cost of providing statutory sick pay

to any employee off work due to coronavirus will,

for up to 14 days, be refunded by the government in full.

I have asked HMRC to scale up the time to pay service

allowing businesses and the self-employed

to defer tax payments over an agreed period of time.

Banks will offer loans of up to £1.2 million and,

to support small and medium-sized businesses.

The government will offer a generous guarantee

on those loans, covering up to 80% of losses

with no fees so that banks can lend with confidence.

This is a budget delivered in challenging times.

We will rise to this moment, we will get through this together.

This budget delivers security today but it also lays

the foundations for prosperity tomorrow.