Sunak is forced to extend furlough to the end of March

Scotland to receive extra £1 billion

CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak has been forced to extend his job-saving furlough scheme by five months as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc with the UK economy.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will now end in March, rather than the original finishing date of October 31, with workers paid 80 per cent of their wages by the Treasury.

The Scottish Government will receive an extra £1 billion in funding, while selfemployed workers will be eligible for grants of up to £7,500.

It followed the launch of a fresh £150bn stimulus package for the UK economy from the Bank of England amid the reintroduction of lockdown south of the Border.

It comes after repeated calls by the SNP, Labour and the Liberal Democrats for a sector-specific furlough scheme were previously rejected by the Chancellor, who said it would be unfair to give people “false hope” that they still had a job.

But yesterday in the House of Commons the Government was forced into another U-turn when Mr Sunak announced the extension of the payment programme for all four nations of the UK until next spring.

The Prime Minister had originally said the CJRS would be extended for one month during a hastily-organised press conference on Saturday, when it was decided England was going to be put into another full lockdown for four weeks. This garnered criticism from Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPS who argued that it was only when an England-wide lockdown was on the cards that the UK Government responded, despite near-constant requests to extend furlough by MPS from across the country.

Mr Sunak told MPS: “I know that people watching at home will have been frustrated by the changes the Government has brought in during the past few weeks. I have had to make rapid adjustments to our economic plans as the spread of the virus has accelerated.”

He said the scheme was “designed and delivered by the Government of the United Kingdom on behalf of all the people of the United Kingdom – wherever they live”.

Mr Sunak added: “That has been the case since March; it is the case now; and will remain the case until next March.

“It is a demonstration of the strength of the Union – and an undeniable truth of this crisis – we have only been able to provide this level of economic support because we are a United Kingdom.”

Critics said the extension has come too late for many businesses, which have had to shut entirely or lay off staff in anticipation of the scheme ending on October 31.

However, the Treasury confirmed that anyone who had been made redundant between September 23 and the end of October could be re-hired and put on

furlough. Scottish Government Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said she welcomed the “overdue” plans, and added that the additional £1bn would enable ministers to “quickly tackle the impacts of the pandemic in Scotland as they arise”, explaining: “This covers consequentials arising from a number of areas including health.”

Ms Forbes added: “Months of unnecessary confusion caused by the UK Government means that some employers have already taken the difficult decision to make people redundant because they expected the scheme to be withdrawn.

“I welcome the Chancellor’s indication that, as in March, employers may be able to bring back people they have made redundant and include them in the furlough scheme, which could go some way to addressing this.

“I also welcome the extension of the Self-employment Income Support Scheme for people who are eligible.”

She added: “However, this scheme remains poorly targeted and offers no relief for people who have become self-employed more recently.

“I call upon the Chancellor to review the entry criteria, as he now has with the Job Retention Scheme, to open up this support to selfemployed people who have so far been excluded.”

Labour’s shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds criticised Mr Sunak for always being “a step behind”.

She said: “Businesses and workers have been pleading for certainty from this Government, but the Chancellor keeps ignoring them until the last possible moment after jobs have been lost and businesses have gone bust.

“Now when the lockdown was announced, the Prime Minister said furlough would be extended for a month – five hours before that scheme was due to end.

“Two days later, realising the selfemployed had been forgotten, there was a last-minute change to the selfemployed scheme. And now, further changes. We need a chancellor who is in front of the problems we face, not one who is always a step behind.”

The Liberal Democrats called for furlough to be extended until June 2021, with the party’s Treasury spokeswoman Christine Jardine criticising the UK Government’s approach.

She said the uncertainty and delay before the U-turn “will have cost businesses and individuals an untold amount”.