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05
Oct 2021
Fears for thousands of Harrogate district jobs as furlough ends
There are fears for the jobs of around 3,600 workers in the Harrogate district in the wake of last week's ending of furlough.
The government scheme introduced at the start of the covid outbreak has protected millions of jobs during the pandemic, with Conservative Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones saying it “got our country through the darkest days of the lockdown”.
But Liberal Democrat councillors in the district have warned that businesses and employees could now be hit by a “tidal wave of job losses” unless more support is made available.
Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the opposition group on Harrogate Borough Council, said the Liberal Democrats both locally and nationally were demanding the scheme be extended for businesses hit hardest by the pandemic.
She said:
Some workers who relied on furlough are also now facing the added worry of the end of the £20-a-week boost to Universal Credit.
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This temporary increase to payments, which was introduced in response to the pandemic, ends tomorrow.
Citizens Advice has described this as a “disastrous decision” by the government and warned around 1.5 million claimants across the UK could be pushed into hardship this winter.
Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of the charity, said:
Supported 28,600 jobs in Harrogate district
The furlough scheme supported around 28,600 jobs in the Harrogate district for 18 months.
It saw the government pay around £70 billion towards the wages of employees across the UK who could not work, or whose employers could no longer afford to pay them, up to a monthly limit of £2,500.
At first it paid 80% of their usual wage, but in August and September it paid 60%, with employers paying 20%.
Since its end, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has pledged more than £500 million in fresh funding to help people back into work and support sectors which are facing recruitment crises.
Funding for the new packages will not be set out until later this month and it comes at a time when Mr Sunak and Prime Minister Boris Johnson are facing pressure to ease the historically high tax burden.
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Mr Jones said while now was the right time for furlough to end, the extra funding showed the government was willing to continue its support for jobs during the covid recovery.
He added:
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