Warning of jobless ‘ crisis’ within weeks
Labour says 100,000 at risk in region, as scheme is launched to help unemployed
CHANCELLOR RISHI Sunak has been warned “to get a grip before it’s too late”, with over 100,000 people living in areas in Yorkshire with additional coronavirus restrictions facing a “jobs cliff edge” in three weeks.
Labour has accused the Richmond MP of failing to support businesses and communities most at risk from a second wave, with the Government’s furlough scheme due to expire at the end of the month.
New analysis by Labour says in Yorkshire 76,000 people still on furlough are now living under localised restrictions, with another 33,000 in towns or cities on the national watch list.
It suggests the jobs of 31,000 people in Leeds, 19,000 in Bradford and 17,000 in Kirklees are among the 1m at risk in the country.
Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds said Labour had urged the Chancellor to introduce a wage support scheme that incentivised employers to keep more staff on, but had been ignored.
She said Britain risked “an unemployment crisis greater than we have seen in decades – and Rishi Sunak’s name will be all over it”.
Yesterday it emerged that Britain’s biggest cinema chain Cineworld is set to close all its 128 theatres, putting up to 5,500 jobs at risk. The blow came ahead of the announcement of a new initiative to help hundreds of thousands of jobseekers who have been without work for three months because of the virus crisis.
Job Entry Targeted Support ( JETS), backed by a £ 238m investment, will offer specialist advice on how people can move into growing sectors, as well as CV and interview coaching.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Therese Coffey said it would boost the prospects of more than 250,000 people.
She said: “This scheme will help those left out of work as a result of Covid- 19, and is one strand of our wider Plan for Jobs which will also support young people on to the jobs ladder through Kickstart, offer the training needed to pivot into new roles through our Sector Based Work Academy Programme and prepare people for getting back into work.”
Mr Sunak said the Government’s unprecedented support had protected millions, but he had always made clear that not every job could be saved.
He said JETS would “provide fresh opportunities to those that have sadly lost their jobs, to ensure that nobody is left without hope.”
The new Job Support Scheme, which replaces furlough from November 1, will require both the Government and firms to top up workers’ wages, covering at least a third of their hours for the next six months.
But it only supports “viable” jobs, where employees can work at least third of their normal hours, which Labour says “shuts out” industries like sports venues, festivals and theatres.
Meanwhile Boris Johnson warned that while he hopes for a turnaround by Christmas, there could be “bumpy months ahead”.
Mr Johnson, who said rumours he was suffering from “long- Covid” were “balderdash”, said: “This could be a very tough winter for all of us – we’ve got to face that fact.”
Measures such as the 10pm curfew have fuelled Tory resentment over restrictions which have caused widespread economic damage.
Mr Johnson said: “I don’t want to have to impose measures like this, are you crazy? This is the last thing we want to do. But I also have to save life. And that’s our priority.”
Research by the Health Foundation found some of Britain’s poorest communities, including Barnsley and Middlesbrough, have experienced higher Covid- 19 death rates and are also showing signs of financial hardship.
From: David Collins, Scissett.
I WAS interested to read ( The Yorkshire Post, September 30) that Esther McVey, the Tory MP and former minister, thinks there is a left- wing view being pushed in classrooms.
I wonder if the views in the classroom cover a wide range of opinions from teachers who are probably representative of the population as a whole.
The views held by Ms McVey are far to the right of centre and therefore the majority of views will always be to her left. Everybody seems to be trying to restrict free speech and this is no different.
At present we seem to have a surplus of views.
■ An expert – anyone with an opinion ( like me).
■ A scientist – anyone who can spell science.
■ Government spokesman – the last one to sit down.
■ Statistics – numbers however incorrect and poorly prepared but at least consistent.
■ Parliamentary source – the tea lady.
■ Parliamentary debate – reading from pre- prepared text written by a script writer addressed to no- one in particular.
When Brexit and the Covid virus are sorted, it will be time to really get down to business. Massive debts to clear, a corrupt voting system designed to keep one of two parties in power, a second chamber which is a disgrace, appears to be inhabited by monied hangers- on and is far too large. A Civil Service which appears to be attempting to change but which is top heavy and partly privatised. Rant over.
From: Steve Ayton, Haworth.
MY television set suffered one of those “near miss” incidents when I watched a Labour MP determined to blame every possible problem on the Government’s inability to make “Track and Trace” work.
The only faintly praiseworthy facet of the politician was his dogged determination to air his idiotic view despite his complete lack of reason and courtesy.
Any clown who thinks that a fully functional Track and Trace would have stopped the selfish and disgusting behaviour of the York revellers denied their post-10pm alcohol is way off the mark.
From: Neil Richardson, Kirkheaton.
YOUR report on retraining ( The Yorkshire Post, September 30) mentions a recent reform in education which will offer fullyfunded courses to help boost the post- Covid economy. But if courses are vital as precursors to economic revival, are there also enabling tasks which should be in place before or after students commence their courses – for instance, a robust system to select applicants, and maybe another that prepares them for the novel year ahead but also assists their progress?