Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Dear constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS or furlough scheme) and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

I agree with you on this important issue. While support under the CJRS and SEISS cannot go on forever, I have consistently called for the Government to abandon its one-size-fits-all withdrawal of support from businesses and people still impacted by coronavirus restrictions. Indeed, I recently supported an Opposition motion in the House of Commons calling for targeted income support for those businesses and individuals. Unfortunately, the motion was voted down by Government MPs.

The UK is in the grip of a jobs crisis. By August, for example, there were nearly seven hundred thousand fewer workers on company payrolls than there were in March. At the same time, millions of people remain furloughed under the CJRS and another 2.6 million people have so far made claims under SEISS. Yet despite this, the Government is continuing to proceed with a uniform withdrawal of its income support schemes, putting at risk thousands of businesses and millions of workers, regardless of the specific situations they face.

If the Chancellor remains inflexible on this issue, the jobs crisis will only intensify. But it is not too late for him to change course. If the Government works across Parliament and with trade unions and businesses, I believe we can deliver new targeted support that can replace the furlough scheme. This could be based on plans proposed by the TUC or the CBI, or on short-time work schemes in place in Germany, France and Denmark.

Such support should: expand part-time working and reward employers who keep people on rather than cutting jobs; provide training and support for those who cannot come back full-time; target the sectors most in need – such as retail, hospitality, aviation and those hit by local lockdowns; and provide certainty for workers and businesses.

It is vital that we act with urgency and do everything possible to protect jobs and prevent mass unemployment. Failure to do so will make the ​jobs emergency worse and lead to untold misery for millions of people, as well as reducing our economic capacity for the future. I can therefore assure you that I will continue to press the Government on this issue at every opportunity.

Thank you once again for contacting me.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Dowd MP