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05
Oct 2021
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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