Today, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak announced unprecedented plans to support our young people, jobs, tourism and hospitality totalling a further £30bn support, a VAT cut to 5% for tourism and hospitality and an unprecedented eat out scheme.
Sarah Dines MP said, ‘Firstly, I just want to highlight how delighted I am at these announcements. These last months have been incredibly difficult for many people and our families and these practical and unprecedented plans announced today will certainly help Britain to get moving again. I have spoken to many local businesses in Derbyshire Dales, who welcome these announcements.
Furlough has been a lifeline for millions, supporting people and businesses to protect jobs. But it cannot and should not go on forever. But while we can’t protect every job, one of the most important things we can do to prevent unemployment is to get as many people as possible from furlough back to their jobs.
So, today, the Chancellor introduced a new policy to reward and incentivise employers who successfully bring furloughed staff back – a new Jobs Retention Bonus. If you’re an employer and you bring back someone who was furloughed - and continuously employ them through to January – the government will pay you a £1,000 bonus per employee.
This pandemic has been an uncertain time for us all, but with over 700,000 people leaving education this year and many more just starting out in their careers, this pandemic has hit the under 25 age group particularly hard in terms of employment. As a mother of four young adults under 25, I know just how worrying these times have been. It is vital that we do not lose this generation, so, today, I am especially pleased to see that the Chancellor has announced the Kickstart Scheme: A new programme to give hundreds of thousands of young people, in every region and every nation of Britain, the best possible chance of getting on and getting a job. The Kickstart Scheme will directly pay employers to create new jobs for any 16 to 24-year-old at risk of long-term unemployment. These will be new jobs - with the funding conditional on the firm proving these jobs are additional. These will be decent jobs – with a minimum of 25 hours per week paid at least the National Minimum Wage. And they will be good quality jobs – with employers providing Kickstarters with training and support to find a permanent job. If employers meet those conditions, the government will pay young people’s wages for six months, plus an amount to cover overheads. That means, for a 24-year-old, the grant will be around £6,500. Employers can apply to be part of the scheme from next month, with the first Kickstarters in their new jobs this autumn. This is a real common-sense practical solution to get our economy moving and support our younger generations.
Hospitality and tourism are one of the highest-employing but hardest-hit sectors and rural communities like ours in Derbyshire Dales rely heavily on this industry. It is the pubs, cafes, restaurants, hotels and B&Bs that bring life to our villages and towns and that is why I am delighted that the announcements today go so far in supporting these sectors. At the moment, VAT on hospitality and tourism is charged at 20%, the Chancellor has moved today that these industries now only be charged 5%. This is a £4bn catalyst for the hospitality and tourism sectors, benefiting over 150,000 businesses, and consumers everywhere - all helping to protect 2.4 million jobs.
The Chancellor also announced the entirely unprecedented eat out scheme, to get customers back into restaurants, cafes and pubs, and protect the 1.8 million people who work in them. For the month of August, the government will give everyone in the country an Eat Out to Help Out discount. Meals eaten at any participating business, Monday to Wednesday, will be 50% off, up to a maximum discount of £10 per head for everyone, including children. Businesses will need to register, and can do so through a simple website, open next Monday. Each week in August, businesses can then claim the money back, with the funds in their bank account within 5 working days. 1.8 million people work in this industry. They need our support. With this measure we can all eat out to help out.
One of the most important sectors for job creation is housing. We must get our house market moving again and for people to feel confident to buy, sell, renovate, move and improve. Today, to catalyse the housing market and boost confidence, the Chancellor has cut stamp duty. Right now, there is no stamp duty on transactions below £125,000, but today he increased the threshold to half a million pounds. This is a temporary cut running until 31st March 2021 and as a result of this move, nearly nine out of ten people buying a main home this year, will pay no stamp duty at all. This is incredible news for Derbyshire Dales and will go a long way to encourage us all to have confidence in the housing market at this time.
These measures are an incredible, unprecedented, positive step towards getting Britain moving again. Derbyshire Dales is open for business, albeit at a social distance. I for one, am looking forward to seeing even more businesses up and running, our economy moving forward and rather than cooking for the family at home, I am determined to make sure I support the local economy and eat out regularly.’
