The Chancellor of the Exchequer has today (July 8) delivered his Summer Economic Update with a package of measures designed to support jobs and boost the UK economy.
It forms the second part of a three-phase plan, with emphasis firmly placed on supporting jobs, by supporting skills and young people with ‘green recovery’ at its core.
A Job Retention Bonus will be introduced to incentivise firms to keep furloughed workers, offering a one-off bonus of £1,000 for each employee who is still employed as of Jan 31 2021.
A £2bn Kickstart Scheme will be launched to create hundreds of thousands of new, fully-subsidised jobs for young people at risk of long-term unemployment.
By giving businesses £2,000 for each new apprentice they hire, investing £111m to triple the scale of traineeships and a further £17m to triple the scale of sector-based work placements, a total of £1.6bn will be invested in scaling up employment support schemes.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said:
“Our plan has a clear goal: to protect, support and create jobs. It will give businesses the confidence to retain and hire. To create jobs in every part of our country. To give young people a better start. To give people everywhere the opportunity of a fresh start.”
£8.8bn of new infrastructure, decarbonisation and maintenance projects will be brought forward to support further job creation, including a £3bn green investment package.
Also included is the £2bn Green Homes Grant scheme to help households make green improvements that are more energy efficient, saving some households hundreds of pounds a year on energy bills and £1bn to make public buildings more energy efficient.
The Chancellor also announced the new Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme, providing a 50% reduction for sit down meals in restaurants, cafes and pubs and cut VAT on most tourism and hospitality-related activities from 20% to 5%.
Image credit: WIktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto/PA Images
