Labour calls on Rishi Sunak to develop 'flexible' furlough scheme to avoid mass redundancies
Labour will today urge Chancellor Rishi Sunak to develop a "flexible" furlough scheme to help businesses forced to close in local lockdowns.
Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds will call ask Mr Sunak to spell out how he will fund his coronavirus recovery package without hiking taxes or slashing public services.
Mr Sunak will unveil a £2 billion scheme to subside six-month work placements for under-25s as part of the measures, which he will set out in his summer economic update in the House of Commons.
But the job retention scheme which has seen the Government pay up to 80 per cent of furloughed workers’ salaries will be wound up and is due to come to an end in October.
Ms Dodds is expected to tell Mr Sunak that the £27.4 billion spent to support 9.4 million jobs "must not have merely served to postpone unemployment".
"The scheme must now live up to its name, supporting employment in industries which are viable in the long term,” the Labour MP is likely to add during their House of Commons exchange.
"And we need a strategy for the scheme to become more flexible, so it can support those businesses forced to close again because of additional localised lockdowns.
"There is still time to avoid additional floods of redundancy notices."
Ms Dodds is also set to warn that increasing taxes during the recovery and cutting back on public services "will damage demand and inhibit our recovery".
"The Tory manifesto committed to no rises in income tax, National Insurance or VAT and therefore it is for them to set out how any additional spending will be paid for," she should add.
"It’s the Chancellor’s job to make sure the economy bounces back from this crisis so there is money in the coffers to protect the public finances."
As part of the measures, Mr Sunak will outline a £3 billion green package with grants for homeowners and public buildings to improve energy efficiency.
It will include £2 billion for households to insulate their homes and make them more energy-efficient, but campaigners said the funding pales in comparison to the economic and environmental crises.
Read more
Labour calls for 'targeted' action before furlough scheme unwinds
What happens if I don't want to go back to work after furlough?
Two-thirds of furloughed workers 'fear they will lose their job'
One in three furloughed workers 'told to break rules and keep working'
