For all the focus on GM going into local lockdown and the disagreements about the support packages, I don't think the real issue - the gaps in the Job Support Schemes - are sufficiently understood. This is fundamentally the disagreement between govt and areas going into tier 3.

In tier 3, only businesses legally instructed to close can access the extended JSS, which allows firms to furlough workers full time at 2/3rds of their wages. By limiting access only to those who have to close, workers in firms forced to close through lack of demand miss out.

Govt argue that firms seeing reduced demand can use the main JSS to bring workers back part-time. But firms have to pay 1/3rd of the costs of unworked hours to use the scheme. That's won't be affordable for many hard pressed businesses, especially if demand drops again in tier 3.

This is a problem facing the hospitality sector in particular, which employs lots of people, many on low wages. Jobs and businesses, often growing pre-COVID, will be put at risk. The reported £5m gap between what GM wanted and what Govt would pay would not have resolved this.