The Chancellor’s clear goal to protect and create jobs, especially for young people and in a UK first the headline that will attract everyone is an Eat Out to Help out 50% off meals across the UK during August on Mondays to Wednesdays.
The 1st Phase of the recovery plan to protect the UK and manage the coronavirus pandemic was social distancing and ordering businesses to close to protect lives. This came with the largest economic rescue in the world to protect people, jobs and businesses with the least well off in society supported the most.
We are now entering the second 2nd Phase of coronavirus support and have to face profound economic challenges and the Chancellor stated he refuses to accept unemployment as an avoidable outcome. Now it is time for a plan for jobs.
The 3rd Phase in the future will be to rebuild with a budget and spending review to come in the Autumn and deal with the challenges facing public finances.
Plan for Jobs
The furlough scheme, difficult as the descision to end it is, will end in October as Rishi Sunak says it’s in no one’s long term interest to keep it forever and to keep jobs supported by government pay is unsustainable and gives false hope.
Job Retention Bonus
So today the government is introducing a new Jobs Retention Bonus. There will be £1000 bonus per employee brought back from Furlough if they are still employed by January 2021 on a minimum of £520 earnings. If all nine million furloughed workers are brought back into employment than this will be a £9 billion package.
Kick start scheme to support jobs
There will be a new Kick Start scheme which will directly pay employers to create new jobs for 16-24 year olds in danger of long term unemployment. The government will pay the first six months salary plus an amount for overheads but these must be new jobs. There will be no cap on the number of places available.
The government will also make payments of £1000 available for Traineeships. Traineeships consist of work experience placements, training (including English and Maths) and work preparation for 16-24-year-olds.
The Government will also pay £2000 to employers to take on new trainees for apprenticeships.
£1 billion will go to the DWP to provide support for people in finding jobs.
Green home owners grant
£2 billion will cover up to 2/3rd of the cost up to £5,000 for home owners to make green improvements to their houses and make them more energy efficient.
A further £1 billion will go to improve public buildings.
House building
To support the housing market, Stamp Duty will be cut from today with no stamp duty on houses worth up to £500,000 until the 31st of March 2021.
Protect Jobs that already exist
Hospitality and tourism have been particularly hard hit and to support the 2 million people working in the sector the Chancellor wants to restart this sector and, with people cautious to go out, there are two new measures get these sectors moving.
VAT on food accomodation and attractions will be reduced from 20% to 5% from next Wednesday the 15th of July until January the 12th.
Eat Out to Help Out
The final measure announced today is unique and never been tried in the UK before – To get customers back into restaurants and pubs the government will give everyone an Eat Out to Help Out 50% off meal deal. It will cover a maximum £10 of per head off food and non-alcoholic drinks funded by the government throughout August on Mondays to Wednesdays. All businesses serving sit down meals will be able to register for the Eat Out to Help Out scheme with fast reimbursement for discounts paid into their bank accounts by the Government.
5 Responses
what about this 500 for everyone and 250 for children will that be still in effect to boost the economy..
No doubt needed support for those in need yet I’m (again) falling through the holes of this system. And we all gone pay it back at some point, either higher VAT or other tax…
The Green thing. If everyone is getting £5k???. The devil will be in the detail. Everyone could get a energy saving boiler for a lot less without having to pay anything, I have not long ago put one in my tenants place and that was a Worcester lot less than £5k
You would in fact have change to the wall cavities done and still more.
I have done all this already, apart from the Windows which are not old anyway.
Watch out who gets those contracts and for excessive pricing.
The £10 thing was a gimmick.