Sunak pledges hope for all those who lose job
Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, says he will make sure “fresh opportunities” are given to everyone who is out of work as he launches a £238 million scheme to help the medium-term unemployed. He pledged that nobody who loses their job in the Covid pandemic would be “left without hope”, as he prepares to address the Conservative party conference today. He is expected to use his conference speech to set out how he intends to solve the jobs crisis.
NOBODY who loses their job in the Covid pandemic will be “left without hope”, Rishi Sunak has pledged as he prepares to address the Conservative Party Conference today.
The Chancellor said he would make sure “fresh opportunities” were given to everyone who is out of work, as he launches a £238 million scheme to help the medium-term unemployed.
He is expected to use his conference speech to set out how he intends to turn around the economy, and in particular how to solve the jobs crisis, which could see a record number unemployed.
Treasury sources hinted yesterday that his speech would be light on new policies, but if he strays beyond his economic remit, Mr Sunak will risk accusations that he is trying to upstage Boris Johnson, who speaks tomorrow. The Prime Minister has insisted he and the Chancellor are “as one”, despite Mr Sunak diverging from Mr Johnson’s message on coronavirus by saying it was time to live “without fear”.
Number 10 will expect Mr Sunak to toe the party line and, in a public show of unity, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor are expected to make a joint visit to a business today.
With the furlough scheme being wound up at the end of this month, Mr Sunak is under huge pressure to help up to four million people who could be out of work by next year. Having already announced help for the long-term unemployed, the Chancellor will promote Job Entry Targeted Support, or JETS, which is “dedicated to supporting those left jobless due to Covid-19”.
He said: “I’ve always been clear that we can’t save every job. I’ve spoken about the damaging effects of being out of work, but through JETS, we will provide fresh opportunities to those that have sadly lost their jobs, to ensure that nobody is left without hope.”
The Treasury has already announced help for workers who are able to go back part time, as well as retraining for the long-term unemployed, but the JETS scheme is aimed at those who have been out of work for 13 weeks or more in England and Wales.
The Department for Work and Pensions will recruit an extra 13,500 work coaches, doubling the current number, to help j obseekers with interview coaching, CVS and specialist advice on getting jobs in growth sectors.
The scheme is expected to help up to 250,000 people, and will begin today in the North East, North West, southern England, Wales and south London before being rolled out across the rest of England later this month.
Mr Sunak is also expected to use his speech to promote the Government’s “Building Back Greener” policy, aimed at making Britain the Silicon Valley of clean electricity generation. He will highlight the creation of 1,000 jobs by Octopus Energy in London, Brighton, Warwick and Leicester. The firm has developed technology to ensure more homes can automatically access green energy, cutting the cost of bills.