Why the Chancellor Rishi Sunak must meet with ExcludedUk - Greg Wright

Nearly every business leader I spoke to said they had been impressed with the Chancellor’s fleet-footed response to the pandemic, which helped to keep thousands of firms away from the cliff edge.

Now, as we seem set for the long haul, voices of dissent are growing and the strain on the public finances will become even harder to sustain.

The Chancellor has announced that the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), a form of wage subsidy for “viable” jobs, will replace the furlough scheme, which will be wound down on October 31.

The JSS will allow staff to be paid by their employer for working at least a third of their usual hours, with the Government topping up part of their salary that would have otherwise been lost due to working reduced hours.

All small and medium-sized businesses will be eligible for the wage support, which starts in November and runs for six months, but larger businesses will have to prove their profits have been hit by the pandemic.

Mr Sunak has already been warned that his latest emergency package will not prevent the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs from sectors hit by coronavirus.

Conservative peer Lord Wolfson, the chief executive of Next, said roles will be shed from the retail industry as consumers make a permanent shift to shopping online.

Steve Barclay, who is Mr Sunak’s deputy as chief secretary to the Treasury, defended the measures as being targeted to roles that remain “viable” but warned “we cannot save every job”.

The Resolution Foundation think tank also claimed the winter economic package would not stave off a sharp rise in unemployment.

Chief executive Torsten Bell said Mr Sunak was right to announce fresh support but added that “design flaws mean that the new Job Support Scheme will not live up to its promise to significantly reduce the rise in unemployment”.

“Those mistakes could be addressed by scrapping the poorly targeted £7.5 billion Job Retention Bonus, and using those funds to ensure the new support scheme gives firms the right incentives to cut hours rather than jobs,” he added.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown believes Mr Sunak will have to rethink his jobs plan. Mr Brown called for a summit with the regional mayors, the unions and the business community.

Campaigning groups are being mobilised to speak up for those who are unable to access extra state aid. ExcludedUK is a grassroots organisation working towards bringing about an end to the exclusions in the Government’s Covid-19 financial support measures across all employment statuses, circumstances and industries.

According to the group, these exclusions have led to significant disparities within the support offered, resulting in unfairness and hardship.

Tony Robinson OBE, who campaigns on behalf of Britain’s micro businesses, said: “Around 250,000 business owners in Yorkshire will have received little or, the vast majority, no income support since lockdown.

“Mental health issues are widespread. Many businesses have closed. Many have sold the equipment for their businesses and are now selling cars and houses in order to survive. Many are now in poverty and using food banks.

He added: “All we’ve campaigned for is parity with furloughed employees in large companies. Grants not loans.

“The Government knew this would happen. They knew self-employed incomes have dropped 20% in the last 10 years, and zero-hours contracts, PAYE freelance contracts, freelancers and new start-ups have all increased year by year.”

There is powerful evidence that many people are simply falling between the cracks. Mr Sunak has acknowledged that he hasn’t been able to help everyone in the way he would have liked.

But surely a Government conference involving stakeholders such as ExcludedUK might find a pathway towards a solution? In a civilised society, nobody must be left behind.

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Thank you

James Mitchinson