CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak has been issued with a stark warning about winding down the furlough scheme and expecting employers to contribute more to their employees’ wages.
As of yesterday, firms are expected to pay 40% of their employees’ wages, which prompted warnings from the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) that one in five businesses may have to make staff redundant as a result.
More than 140,000 people are on furlough in Scotland and the BCC is warning of “many thousands” of redundancies and a “widespread skills shortage”.
SNP deputy Westminster leader Kirsten Oswald MP said: “This is a stark warning from the British Chamber of Commerce of the consequences of the Chancellor rolling back the furlough scheme just as businesses are starting to find their feet again.
“Winding down the furlough scheme now pulls the rug from under the feet of thousands of businesses in Scotland who are unable to open. Once again, furlough is being worked around the needs of businesses in England, with the needs of firms in Scotland being completely ignored.
“For a government that is supposedly on the side of business they are hanging them out to dry now by winding back the furlough scheme despite concerns from firms that they will have to let workers go. Businesses are still finding their feet again and building themselves back to pre-Covid levels, but they are being chucked into the deep end by the Tories.
“If the Tories are serious about levelling up across the United Kingdom then they must recognise that businesses in Scotland need the Government to continue to support them as long as they need it.
“Once again this demonstrates that we cannot trust the Tories to protect Scotland’s economy.”
A Treasury spokesperson said: “We’re proud that the support we put in place throughout the pandemic was one of the largest packages anywhere in the world. Including protecting 1 in 3 Scottish jobs.
“This includes the multi-billion pound furlough scheme, with the number of Scottish workers on furlough having halved over the past three months.
“The Scottish Government has also benefited from £14.5 billion in additional Barnett funding to help with their response to the pandemic.”
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