Local MP Sir Edward Leigh has welcomed the Plan for Jobs set out by Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Wednesday (8 July), saying it provides much-needed support to businesses across the whole of the Gainsborough constituency.
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the Government has said it will do whatever it takes to protect people and businesses from the immediate economic crisis. As part of this, more than 9,300 jobs have been supported through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, allowing employers to put workers on furlough while the Government supports their wages, in Caistor, Market Rasen, Gainsborough and all the communities of the constituency.
The Chancellor has now set out the second phase of the Government’s response, focusing on jobs: supporting people to find the jobs that are out there, creating new jobs through investing in infrastructure, and protecting jobs by revitalising the hard-hit sectors upon which many jobs depend.
As part of this, employers will be encouraged to retain staff who have been on the furlough scheme, with the Government paying a one-off bonus of £1,000 for every employee who was furloughed and who is kept on until January.
Also included in the Government’s £30 billion Plan for Jobs:
- A temporary cut in VAT for the tourism and hospitality sectors, to give a much-needed boost to some of the industries hardest hit by coronavirus.
- A new Eat Out to Help Out Scheme, giving people up to 50 per cent off meals out at restaurants, pubs and cafes on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in August.
- The temporary removal of stamp duty on all homes under £500,000 until the end of March 2021, to catalyse the housing market.
- A new Kickstart Scheme, which will create hundreds of thousands of new, fully-subsidised jobs for young people.
The Chancellor’s Summer Economic Update, along with the New Deal for Britain announced by the Prime Minister last week, will benefit people and businesses across the East Midlands. This includes:
- Up to £95 million to fund shovel-ready projects. This could include schemes such as the Manufacturing Research Centre @ Infinity Park and the Centre for Innovation in Rural Health in Lincoln.
- £10.25 million accelerated funding from the Towns Fund to kickstart activity in towns and high streets.
- A share of £250 million investment to make progress on replacing out-dated mental health dormitories with single-bed accommodation, allowing Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire NHS Trusts to improve its mental health inpatient wards.
- An additional £8 million of transport funding to support two new local roads projects, including new footways and cycleways for major roads in South Leicestershire.
- A share of £170 million to accelerate delivery of flood and coastal defence schemes across England, including in Derby.
Following our Plan for Jobs, the Government will soon turn its attention to a third phase – a moment for rebuilding. The Chancellor will produce a Budget and a Spending Review in the autumn.
Commenting, Sir Edward said:
“Throughout the coronavirus crisis, the Conservative Government has stood squarely behind people and businesses with one of the largest and most comprehensive packages of support anywhere in the world.
“As we turn our attention to carefully reopening our economy, it is right that the Chancellor is doing everything in his power to support, protect and create jobs. Our plan will be a lifeline for countless people and businesses across the whole of the Gainsborough constituency.
“By levelling up the whole country, we will give businesses the confidence to retain and hire, create jobs in every region and ensure young people have the opportunity of a better start.”
