End of furlough will impact jobs

The end of the furlough scheme will put more than 2000 jobs at risk in Livingston alone.

New figures show that withdrawing support for jobs and businesses means 2200 people could be made redundant in the town.

Analysis from the House of Commons Library, using the latest HMRC data, has revealed that 116,500 jobs remain furloughed in Scotland at the last count – that is five per cent of eligible jobs.

Of those, 2200 jobs were furloughed in Livingston until the UK Government ended the Job Retention scheme last week.

The analysis also shows that the number of furloughed jobs in Scotland fell by around 20 per cent between the end of May and the end of June, and a further 20 per cent between the end of June and the end of July.

The latest ONS data shows that unemployment is currently at a lower rate in Scotland than across the UK.

The unemployment rate was at 4.3 per cent in Scotland between May and July– below the UK rate of 4.6 per cent.

Livingston MP Hannah Bardell had pressed the UK Government to continue the furlough scheme.

She said:“The premature end to furlough means that uncertainty lies ahead for those who have not yet returned to work which includes 2200 jobs at risk locally. The UK government withdrawing support for jobs and businesses is abrupt and premature.

“This is especially important given the risks of covid this winter and the fragile state of the UK economy.”

She added: “The Chancellor has ignored numerous calls to extend the furlough scheme and deliver financial support for hard hit businesses and sectors.

“There is now a very real danger that Tory complacency on jobs could result in rising redundancies in Livingston and across the UK.

“Scotland’s recovery is increasingly under threat from damaging Tory cuts and tax hikes. “The only way to keep Scotland safe is to become an independent country, with the full powers needed to build a strong, fair and equal recovery.”

However, Conservative Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said that the UK Government’s furlough scheme has been a huge success, supporting people through the pandemic and saving jobs.

He continued: “Overall, the Job Retention

Scheme and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme protected over a million Scottish jobs during this period.

“The country is now in a position where we need to start rebuilding our economy and paying back the money we have borrowed, so that the next generations are not burdened with the debt from Covid-19.”

Withdrawing support for jobs and businesses is abrupt and premature Hannah Bardell MP