The British government will pay grants to self-employed people who have lost their livelihoods because of the COVID-19 lockdown, further extending an unprecedented package of measures to prevent the economy from collapsing, the country's finance minister announced on Thursday Finance Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain's government would pay those self-employed people who had been adversely affected by the virus a taxable grant worth 80 per cent of their average monthly profits over the last three years, up to 2,500 pounds a month.