The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has set out a ‘Plan for Jobs’ that will spur the UK’s recovery from the Coronavirus outbreak.
Delivering his summer Economic Update in Parliament, the Chancellor announced a package of measures to support jobs in every part of the country.
The plan for jobs is the second part of a three-phase plan to secure the UK’s economic recovery from coronavirus and builds on the government's £160 billion Coronavirus support package, which included £49 billion of extra funding for the country’s vital public services including the NHS, paying the wages of nearly 12 million people and supporting over a million businesses through grants, loans and rates cuts.
As the UK enters the second phase in its recovery, the Chancellor’s plan is designed to support jobs by focusing on:
- skills and young people;
- creating jobs by investing in shovel-ready projects and greening our infrastructure; and
- protecting jobs by cutting VAT for the hospitality sector and creating a landmark 'Eat Out to Help Out' voucher scheme for diners.
The Chancellor said that following this second phase focusing on jobs, there will be a third phase focusing on rebuilding, with a Budget and Spending Review in the autumn.
Welcoming the Statement, James Wild MP said -
Throughout this crisis the Chancellor has delivered unprecedented economic support to help people in North West Norfolk and across the country.
Today's statement was about protecting and creating jobs. I hope it helps many of the brilliant businesses across Norfolk to retain their employees, and to give young people the chance they deserve.
The plan to support and create jobs included:
- a Job Retention Bonus will be introduced to help firms keep furloughed workers. UK Employers will receive a one-off bonus for UK employers of £1,000 for each furloughed employee who is still employed as of 31 January 2021;
- a new £2 billion Kickstart Scheme to create hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs young people aged 16-24, who are claiming Universal Credit and are at risk of long-term unemployment (this funding will cover six-month job placement on National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week);
- new Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme will provide a 50% reduction for sit-down meals in cafes, restaurants and pubs across the UK from Monday to Wednesday every week throughout August 2020;
- the rate of VAT applied on most tourism and hospitality-related activities being cut from 20% to 5% from 15 July to 12 January 2021
- a temporary increase to the Nil Rate Band of Residential SDLT (Stamp Duty) from £125,000 to £500,000 until 31 March 2021 to drive growth and support jobs across the housebuilding and property sectors.
In addition, £1.6 billion will be spent on employment support schemes, training and apprenticeships to help people looking for a job. Young people, who are amongst the worst hit by the crisis, will benefit from these plans, which include:
- £2,000 for every business for each new apprentice they hire under the age of 25 (in addition to the existing £1,000 payment the Government already provides for new 16-18-year-old apprentices and those aged under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan); £1,500 for each new apprentice they hire aged 25 and over
- an £111 million investment to triple the scale of high-quality traineeships in 2020-21;
- £17 million of funding to triple the number of sector-based work academy placements in 2020-21;
- almost £900 million to double the number of work coaches to 27,000; and
- an extra £32 million investment in the National Careers Service to benefit over a quarter of a million more young people.
The plan will also create tens of thousands of jobs by bringing forward work on £8.8 billion of new infrastructure, decarbonisation and maintenance projects, including
- a £3 billion green investment package to support 140,000 green jobs and upgrade buildings and reduce emissions.
- Homeowners and landlords in England will be able to apply for: vouchers from a £2 billion Green Homes Grant scheme to pay for green improvements such as loft, wall and floor insulation that could save some households hundreds of pounds a year on their energy bills while creating thousands of jobs; and
- an additional £1 billion programme will make public buildings, including schools and hospitals, greener, helping the country meet its ambitions of achieving Net Zero by 2050, whilst investing in our future prosperity.
In addition, £5.8 billion will be spent on shovel-ready construction projects to get Britain building including:
- £1.5 billion for hospital maintenance and upgrades;
- £100 million for our local roads network;
- over £1 billion to start to rebuild schools in the worst condition in England, plus £760 million this year for key maintenance work on schools and FE colleges;
- £1 billion for local projects to boost local economic recovery in the places that need it most;
- £142 million for court maintenance to repair around 100 courts across England.
