6,500 jobs at risk in Walsall South unless Chancellor U-turns on furlough cliff edge

Rt Hon Valerie Vaz MP calls on Chancellor to abandon his one-size-fits-all withdrawal of wage support across the entire economy

Rt Hon Valerie Vaz MP said:

“Chancellor Rishi Sunak is pushing ahead with his one-size-fits-all withdrawal of both schemes across the entire economy by the end of October. The Government should be targeting support where it’s needed most, not withdrawing it all in one fell swoop.

“New analysis has revealed that an estimated 6,500 people were still fully furloughed by their employer in the middle of August in Walsall South. These figures also show that 3,300 people in Walsall South had made claims under the Coronavirus Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) by the end of July.

“I urge the Government to think again and extend income support for jobs and businesses in the hardest-hit sectors and extend the schemes beyond the Chancellor’s 31 October cliff edge. Without this support, sectors vital to the West Midlands’ economic recovery such as highly-skilled manufacturing will suffer.”

“People will lose support even if their business are not yet back to normal or if they live in an area subject to new local restrictions – and regardless of how important the sector they work in is to the long-term health of the economy.”