Local MP Robert Largan has welcomed the Plan for Jobs set out by Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Wednesday (8 July). The Plan for Jobs will support, create and protect jobs across the country as the High Peak emerges from the Coronavirus outbreak. 

More than 11,200 jobs have been supported in High Peak through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, allowing employers to put workers on furlough while the Government supports their wages. The Chancellor has now set out the second phase of the Government’s response, focusing on jobs. 

As part of this, employers will be encouraged to retain staff who have been on the furlough scheme, with the Government paying a one-off bonus of £1,000 for every furloughed employee who is kept on until January. 

Also included in the Government’s £30 billion Plan for Jobs: 

•    A temporary cut in VAT for the tourism and hospitality sectors. 
•    A new Eat Out to Help Out Scheme, giving people up to 50 per cent off meals out at restaurants, pubs and cafes on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in August. 
•    The temporary removal of stamp duty on all homes under £500,000 until the end of March 2021. 
•    A new Kickstart Scheme, which will create hundreds of thousands of new, fully-subsidised jobs for young people.

The Government will turn its attention to a third phase, a moment for rebuilding, when the Chancellor puts forward a Budget and a Spending Review in the autumn.

Robert Largan MP commented:

“As we turn our attention to carefully reopening the economy, it is right that the Chancellor is doing everything in his power to support, protect and create jobs. This plan will be a lifeline for countless people and businesses across the High Peak. 

“By uniting and levelling up the whole country, this plan will give businesses the confidence to retain and hire, create jobs in every region and ensure young people have the opportunity of a better start.”