• Car Dealer Plus
No Result
View All Result
  • Latest
  • Used Cars
  • Live
  • Forum
  • Power 2020
  • Used Car Awards
  • CDX
  • Knowledge
  • Suppliers Guide
  • About Us
  • Latest Issue
  • Top 100
  • CD Plus
  • Latest
  • Used Cars
  • Live
  • Forum
  • Power 2020
  • Used Car Awards
  • CDX
  • Knowledge
  • Suppliers Guide
  • About Us
  • Latest Issue
  • Top 100
  • CD Plus
No Result
View All Result

Chancellor under pressure to bring in targeted extension of furlough to avoid mass unemployment

Car Dealer Magazine by Car Dealer Magazine
September 13, 2020
0
Home News

Rishi Sunak is facing calls on all sides to bring in a targeted extension to the furlough scheme to avoid massive job losses.

A report out today (Sep 11) by the cross-party Treasury Select Committee warns of a ‘cliff edge’ looming with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme set to end on October 31, with the risk of mass long-term unemployment and hard-hit viable firms put out of business if furlough is ended abruptly.

It also recommends more action to boost consumer spending following the Eat Out To Help Out scheme.

The report, entitled The Challenges of Recovery, was seized on by business leaders, unions and others, with Torsten Bell, chief executive of independent think tank The Resolution Foundation, saying it was imperative that the chancellor rethought plans to phase out support, adding that the report was ‘essential reading for Treasury officials’.

He said: ‘Extending support for the hardest hit sectors of the economy will be essential to limit the rise in unemployment Britain faces in the months ahead.

‘The government will also need to shelve plans to cut back Universal Credit payments to prevent millions of families from suffering a fresh income shock next spring.’

Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said that policymakers should closely consider a successor to the scheme.

‘The priority should be protecting viable small businesses – and all the jobs they provide – that have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus crisis, including those caught by local lockdowns, subject to continued national restrictions, or with staff that have directly suffered because of Covid.’

Meanwhile, Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association general secretary Manuel Cortes said the cross-party committee’s ideas were ‘practical steps to help retain jobs and protect the most vulnerable’.

He added: ‘The government must support those who are being shut down and driven to hardship if we are to successfully beat this virus.’

Unite boss Steve Turner said: ‘Hundreds of thousands of workers could face a desperate future unless the prime minister and chancellor move swiftly to modify the Job Retention Scheme.

‘Surely it is far better to invest in jobs now than allowing unemployment to reach levels not seen since the 1930s, and inevitably felt hardest in the least wealthy towns and cities.

‘Ministers also need to show some political imagination and display a sense of urgency because our great manufacturing sector, which supports hundreds of thousands of jobs right across the economy, is in deadly danger.’

Committee chairman Mel Stride said: “The chancellor should carefully consider targeted extensions to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and explain his conclusions.

‘The key will be assisting those businesses who, with additional support, can come through the crisis as sustainable enterprises, rather than focusing on those that will unfortunately just not be viable in the changed post-crisis economy.

‘This requires a very difficult set of judgements; it is where careful analysis and creative thinking will be critical.’

Around 9.6 million jobs have been supported by the furlough scheme.

Sunak has previously insisted it won’t be extended, instead putting his faith in his job retention bonus, which gives firms £1,000 per returning furloughed worker.

But the Treasury committee condemned the bonus, saying it was unclear if it was ‘good value for money as it’s not effectively targeted’.

Other recommendations include measures to help small firms pay back loans taken out during the crisis, such as a possible student loans-style repayment system.

Former Labour prime minister and chancellor Gordon Brown also waded into the argument this morning, warning of ‘a tsunami of unemployment’.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the Bank of England had to put more focus on dealing with unemployment as a result of Covid-19.

‘I think that there should now be an operational target that interest rates will not rise and stimulus will continue until employment returns to pre-crisis levels.

‘It’s a change. It’s in line with what the Federal Reserve is doing. I think other banks around the world are going to do something similar. And I think the Bank of England, at this point, is, I’m afraid, behind the curve.

‘They have got to send a signal that employment really matters. We are facing a tsunami of unemployment.’

  • 150th Car Dealer Mag, designed for digital – Read it for free here
  • Have you nominated your dealership for a Used Car Award? – Do it here
  • Join our breaking news WhatsApp group – Click here to join now

Related Posts

Volkswagen Passat GTE plug-in electric car being charged
News

VW suffers post-tax profit drop of 37 per cent but says that was better than expected

February 26, 2021
Supercar graphic
News

Moving on up: Here are the top 10 used supercars to buy if you want to see a return on your investment

February 26, 2021
Subaru sign via Newspress
News

Subaru adds three dealers to network with plans for at least 15 as part of restructure that will see 10 leave

February 26, 2021
G3 Motorhouse in Failsworth from Google
News

Car dealers must pay out thousands after Trading Standards investigation found they’d clocked cars

February 26, 2021
Mike Hawes
News

SMMT calls for dealers to open ‘ideally before April 12’ as car production levels slump to 12-year low

February 26, 2021
Online car sales on an iPad
News

Fifth of car buyers think online sales will overtake those in showrooms by 2025 – but many think it’ll never happen

February 26, 2021

Want the latest news?

Sign up to Car Dealer's daily news email updates

Subscribe
How many car dealerships does each manufacturer have in the UK? Car Dealerships Locations List 2021 revealed
News

How many car dealerships does each manufacturer have in the UK? Car Dealerships Locations List 2021 revealed

February 24, 2021
Used Car Awards with Mike Brewer and James Baggott graphi
News

Who won what at the Used Car Awards 2020? Mike Brewer reveals our winning car dealers

February 11, 2021
Car Dealer issue 156 front cover and Used Car Awards
Online Magazine

Out now: Car Dealer issue 156 features our Used Car Awards, H.R. Owen CEO Ken Choo and lots more

February 23, 2021
Used car market stronger than ever as August sees sales up by nearly 50 per cent for Big Motoring World
News

Opinion: Here are 10 reasons why I think there’ll be a rapid recovery in car sales when lockdown ends

February 16, 2021
Trophy Cars forecourt
News

Investigation: Meet the hyper-specialist car dealers making their money from weird and wonderful motors

February 11, 2021
Become a Car Dealer Plus member and get more out of this website including free legal advice
News

Become a Car Dealer Plus member and get more out of this website including free legal advice

January 15, 2021
Car Dealer Top 100 – The list in full of the most profitable car dealers in the UK
Car Dealer Top 100

Car Dealer Top 100 – The list in full of the most profitable car dealers in the UK

February 10, 2021
Bitcoin ATM terminal
News

Will car dealers in the UK accept Bitcoin for payment? Dealers speak out after Tesla plans to accept cryptocurrency 

February 18, 2021
  • Latest
  • Used Cars
  • Live
  • Forum
  • Power 2020
  • Used Car Awards
  • CDX
  • Knowledge
  • Suppliers Guide
  • About Us
  • Latest Issue
  • Top 100
  • CD Plus
Call us: 020 8125 3880

© 2020 Blackball Media

No Result
View All Result
  • Car Dealer Plus
  • Latest
  • Used Cars
  • Live
  • Forum
  • Power 2020
  • Used Car Awards
  • CDX
  • Knowledge
  • Suppliers Guide
  • About Us
  • Latest Issue
  • Top 100

© 2020 Blackball Media

Log In
Register
Register
Server C