When does the leave scheme end, who is eligible and what assistance is available? Business News

Michael Gove said the government is “open-minded” about expanding the program.

Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon will use a four-nation summit with Mr Johnson on Thursday to push for the job retention program to continue beyond its current expiry date in September.

Asked about the possibility of extending it, Mr Gove said: “We are open-minded, yes.”

Speaking ahead of the four-nation summit on tackling Covid, the cabinet minister said the initiative, which sees the taxpayer paying workers’ wages in cash, had been a “huge success” that was not possible that “thanks to the broad shoulders of the British Treasury”.

He insisted that higher spending in response to the coronavirus pandemic would continue, as the country as a whole seeks to “build back better.”

The Scottish government has expressed concerns over a possible return to Tory austerity in Westminster, but Mr Gove told BBC Radio Scotland’s Hello Scotland program: “We will spend more.

“We will spend more on the NHS, we will spend more on education, we will spend more on criminal justice, because in all of these areas it is absolutely vital that we build back better.

“The additional funding for everyone will continue, and it’s important that we all learn from each other about how this money should be spent.”