Mr. Sebastian Barnes:

The important message from us is that the money is available, partly through the contingencies and, more broadly, in the context of public finances. The money is available to provide the supports that could be needed to make sure there is not lasting damage to the economy. Exactly how one designs those supports is a difficult question. It is one on which the Government, with its much closer contact to the business community, is in a much better place to take a view than IFAC is.

The current supports end in June and many people still receive them. It is obvious that some form of extension will be needed. With the economy recovering significantly according to our 2022 projections, it is less obvious to us that large-scale support for everyone in a fairly open way would be justified. It would probably need to be much more targeted. Perhaps a little more care is needed to ensure companies' business models really have been disrupted and they are not just being kept alive with public support and also that there are proper business transition plans in place. It is not the fiscal council's expertise to know how to design these schemes. The Government probably does not need to make a commitment now on what it will do in 2022. It must wait and see how this unwinds.