Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered his summer economic statement yesterday, which proposed a renewed focus on getting people back to work and creating new jobs. With many companies making job cuts, this next phase of support is designed to help the transition back to work as the furloughing scheme comes to an end in October.
Speaking after the PM’s questions, Sunak said that the furloughing scheme could not go on for ever. In addition to the rising cost of the scheme, he said that keeping people in jobs that were supported by government aid would give them false hope that these jobs would survive. Skills, he said, would also fade the longer people remained away from work.
Sunak announced a three-point plan to get people working. Firstly, £9bn will be allocated for a bonus scheme to re-employ furloughed workers. Any employer who brings someone back off furlough, and keeps them in a job until January, will get a £1,000 bonus. The Chancellor said that employers must be offering quality jobs that pay minimum wage or more.
Next, the Chancellor outlined a ‘Kickstart Scheme’ aimed at creating jobs for young people, who have been particularly affected by the pandemic. The government will pay young people’s wages for up to six months under the scheme at a cost of £6,500 per person. Sunak said there will be no limit on the amount of ‘kick starters’ an organisation can take on.
In order to support these people back into work, the government is creating a £2,000 payment for firms to take on apprentices. The Chancellor said that apprenticeships had a proven track record, and were a good way of developing a skilled workforce. In addition to this, Sunak said that the number of work coaches in job centres is being doubled to help give advice to jobseekers.
Jobs in the construction sector will be boosted with a £2bn ‘green homes grant’ to help make homes more cost efficient. This is expected to create another 3bn jobs in the construction sector, which already supports around 750,000 workers. To further jump start the property market, Sunak also announced that stamp duty would be abolished on homes worth up to £500,000 until March 2021.
The Chancellor concluded by announcing special measures for the tourism and hospitality sectors which have been some of the worst hit by the Coronavirus pandemic. To help these sectors restart, Sunak announced a VAT cut on tourism and hospitality from 20% to 5% until January. A first-of-its- kind ‘eat out’ scheme will also give customers a discount of up to £10 per head when eating out Monday to Wednesday during August.
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