Rethink axing your furlough scheme, bank boss tells Rishi
THE Governor of the Bank of England last night piled pressure on Rishi Sunak to provide more help for businesses hit by the latest Covid restrictions.
In a rare political intervention, Andrew Bailey asked the Chancellor to ‘rethink’ the furlough scheme, which is due to finish at the end of next month.
Mr Bailey has previously backed the decision to bring the £40billion job subsidy scheme to an end.
But addressing a British Chambers of Commerce event yesterday, Mr Bailey said some sectors will need more help as the scheme ends.
He said he did not want to ‘tie the Chancellor’s hands’ by offering a specific remedy.
But he added: ‘The reason I said I think it was sensible not to continue the current scheme was precisely the point that we’ve moved from a world of generalised employment protection to rather more specifically focused areas.
‘I think it is therefore sensible to stop and rethink the approach going forward, without any commitment to what that might be.’
In the Commons yesterday, Boris Johnson hinted that Mr Sunak was preparing new assistance for sectors hit hardest by the crisis. The Prime Minister ducked repeated requests from MPs to extend the furlough scheme.
But he added: ‘It is certainly our intention, as we go forward, to do everything we can to protect lives and livelihoods and to put our arms around everyone in this country.
‘No one can deny that the Chancellor has been exceptionally creative and ambitious in the plans that he has set out, and he will continue to apply the maximum possible imagination and creativity in that respect.’
The PM also said the Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden was working ‘flat out’ on a support package to help sports clubs hit by restrictions that mean there is no immediate hope of a return of fans to stadiums.
Carolyn Fairbairn, directorgeneral of the BBC, said it was ‘desperately urgent to have a successor to the furlough scheme’. She said: ‘It has saved thousands and thousands of jobs but there is a cliff-edge looming. We are
‘Support Scottish employers’
calling for the Treasury to announce a successor scheme very quickly.’
Roger Barker, of the Institute of Directors, said the new restrictions would ‘inevitably put the brakes on the economic recovery’. He said businesses would accept the clampdown if it helped head off even more draconian restrictions, but added ministers now had a duty to support the economy. ‘The onus is squarely on the Government to set out the next phase of its support,’ he said.
Labour yesterday stepped up its call for the furlough scheme to be extended.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor have repeatedly ruled out prolonging the scheme in its current form, which pays 80 per cent of the wages of those signed up.
But some Tory MPs have also urged the Government to come forward with more financial support.
Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, yesterday asked for a ‘guarantee’ that the Government will ‘continue to support Scottish employers and workers in areas affected by the measures when the furlough scheme ends’.