Rate bills will be issued as normal but households will be allowed to delay payment.

The move was announced by Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan at a press conference this lunchtime.He said people who feel unable to pay their rates bills will be allowed to defer payment until further notice. Clarification on unpaid rates will be issued later this year.But the Treasury Minister urged people to pay their rates bills if they are in a position to do so.Mr Cannan said the island was fighting to save lives but also fighting to protect the Manx economy.He said that the previously announced business support grant scheme will be extended to cover education, construction and horticulture.The first £3,000 grants from the scheme had been paid and many more will follow, he said.The salary support scheme will also be extended to certain smaller businesses that had previously been excluded from it.And Mr Cannan also announced additional support for the beleaguered fishing industry, which is seeing its markets collapsing.

Funding for the support schemes is coming from the National Insurance Fund, which is used to pay the state pension and certain benefits.

Mr Cannan told the press briefing that there would be a review of the NI fund ’to ensure fairness and equity is put back’.Mr Cannan said by staying at home people were not only helping to suppress the virus, but also helping to protect jobs and the economy.'In short the quicker we can suppress this virus, the quicker we can get our economy functioning again,' he said.Isle of Man Bank, Santander International, HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, Nedbank Private Wealth International and Cayman National Bank have all agreed to provide a Mortgage Repayment Holiday to existing customers who have fallen into financial difficulty as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.The support package will offer relief to homeowners who will be able to suspend repayments for up to three months on a residential mortgage.