Support measures won’t halt job losses, firms say
Concern in hospitality, arts and sport sectors
BUSINESS LEADERS have warned Chancellor Rishi Sunak that the Government’s landmark financial intervention amid the coronavirus crisis risks leaving vast swathes of the economy which is not receiving support to wither and die.
Rishi Sunak set out a new package of support yesterday aimed at propping up the economy for the coming months.
But hospitality firms, arts and culture, and sporting venues in particular said there was little for them in the announcement.
The chief of pub giant Young’s, Patrick Dardis, was among leaders to criticise the new measures, saying they will “not stop businesses from laying off staff”.
Bosses said that greater support is still needed to aid the recovery of pubs, bars, restaurants and other businesses, although trade groups hailed Mr Sunak’s decision to extend VAT cuts.
David McDowall, the chief operating officer of Brewdog, tweeted to say that the “hopes of our sector have been crushed”.
He said the new plans are “just not enough to avert a crisis facing thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of livelihoods”.
Conservative
MP
Julian
Knight, who is the chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport ( DCMS) select committee, said he welcomed the “economywide intervention”.
But “it still leaves many hundreds of thousands of workers in events, arts and cultural parts of the economy with a grim future”, he said.
“The truth is, three times as many people in these sectors are currently on furlough than the national average, which suggests that the job support scheme may not be able to stop unprecedented redundancies
and many organisations from facing extinction.”
The Music Venue Trust, which represents grassroots music venues, said the new measures were “built around the premise of returning to work”, which was not possible in some industries.
The Creative Industries Federation’s chief executive, Caroline Norbury, said many of the sector’s two million self- employed workers will “continue to fall through the gaps in government support”.
She added: “Many of these people have seen all of their work dry up overnight.”
It still leaves hundreds of thousands of workers with a grim future. Conservative MP Julian Knight, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport committee.