MP welcomes steady decrease in furloughs as economy reopens
Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid has hailed new figures released last Thursday (6 May) that show the Coronavirus Job Retention (‘furlough’) Scheme is continuing to support thousands of jobs across Banff and Buchan.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was announced over a year ago and has supported employers in paying their employees and avoiding redundancies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of 14 April, there have been 11.5 million unique jobs supported across the United Kingdom by the CJRS since its inception. A total of 1.3 million employers have made use of the scheme since it started in March 2020, totalling in £61.3 billion claimed.
In Scotland, the cumulative number of employments furloughed is 897,700. Over 15,000 of those in Banff and Buchan.
The beverage serving activities sector had the highest proportion of eligible employees, followed by the hotels and accommodation sector. On 28 February, these sectors had employment take-up rates of 92% and 75% respectively. Provisional figures for 31 March show this decreased to 78% and 70% respectively.
Scottish Conservative MP for Banff and Buchan David Duguid said:
“These latest figures from HMRC are further proof of the commitment and resources from the UK Government, supporting people and jobs in Banff and Buchan, across Scotland and the rest of the UK.
“The strength of the UK Treasury in supporting families, communities, businesses and jobs across Scotland is clear and it is great to see that support continue as the economy continues to cautiously open up.
“We’ve seen a gradual reduction in the take-up of the furlough scheme in recent months as many workers – particularly in the hospitality sector – return to their jobs.
“The UK Government continues to support those not yet able to return to work with CJRS and other Covid support schemes extended through the Summer.
“Along with the world-leading pace of vaccine roll-out, the UK Government continues to support our economy and communities towards recovery.”
