There will be no change to the ending of the furlough wage support scheme despite an extension of lockdown announced by Boris Johnson.
The UK Government confirmed it will not heed calls from industry and opponents to further extend furlough and other financial support as the Prime Minister announced a delay to his original road map out of restrictions for England.
The delay announced by Boris Johnson means that the road map easing earmarked for June 21 in England will be delayed for four weeks to July 19.
Nicola Sturgeon could announce similar measures for Scotland on Tuesday.
This means that pubs, restaurants, cinemas and many other venues will continue to face limits on numbers and distancing restrictions, while nightclubs will remain shut.
Furlough support currently allows businesses impacted by the pandemic the ability to keep workers on with an 80 per cent wage subsidy from the state.
This is due to taper off from the end of this month, moving to a 70 per cent state subsidy supported by a 10 per cent employer contribution in July, tapering further before ending completely in September.
Speaking at the Downing Street Press conference, Boris Johnson said: “We always made sure that the furlough scheme would continue until September, to take account of the whole spread of the of the roadmap."
We don’t think on the basis of what we can see now, in the data on the vaccine effectiveness, we don’t think that we’ll need to change that.”
SNP MP Alison Thewliss MP warned businesses could be forced to make thousands of people redundant.
The SNP Treasury spokeswoman said Sunak risked causing another “wave of job losses” and that it was crucial that full furlough support at 80 per cent of wages, and the business rates freeze, are extended for as long as is necessary.
Thewliss said: “It is critical that full furlough support at 80 per cent of wages, and the business rates freeze, are extended for as long as is required by each of the devolved nations until covid restrictions are fully lifted.”
