Reaction as Sunak announces job retention plan

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After his speech in the Commons, this afternoon Rishi Sunak visited a branch of the restaurant chain Wagamama in Central London.

The chancellor chatted to customers, served them lunch and asked how they felt about being out and about after the lockdown.

Speaking to the media afterwards the chancellor said, the government had been right to act "in the way we have during this crisis".

"We’ve stepped in, we’ve limited long term damage. But in the medium term we will and must return to a position of financial sustainability."

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Former chair of Pizza Express Luke Johnson has been speaking to Radio 4's PM programme.

He says: “These are extraordinary announcements for a government to be making … every bit is helpful."

On whether the August vouchers will work he says: “I think a lot of people are still frightened and so every inducement that can be brought to bear to encourage people to get back to their habits of eating and spending and working is good news.

“I think the government must also help with its messaging and communications …and start encouraging people, as they have in other countries, to get back to a degree of usual behaviour and that will allow businesses to survive and jobs to be maintained.”

Plaid Cymru's Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts says some of the chancellor's measures are welcome including support for young people getting into work.

However she urges the government to look at extending furlough schemes for those sectors hard hit by the crisis such as tourism.

She also says she would like to see furlough extended in those areas where a local lockdown is implemented.

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London Mayor Sadiq Khan says "I fear - just as the government was slow to act on the health consequences they are being far too slow to respond to the economic consequences of Covid-19.

"Many of those who have been furloughed will soon be unemployed... I fear we are about to enter levels of mass unemployment."

He says £1,000 isn't enough for employers in various sectors that had their businesses closed.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced the government will pay firms a £1,000 bonus for every staff member kept on for three months when the furlough scheme ends in October.

The Chancellor has just outlined another hefty chunk of spending to try to prop up the economy, specifically to try to keep millions of people from joining the dole.

Many of the measures run against traditional Tory instincts. And there isn't a whiff of how any of it will be paid for for at least another couple of months.

But that's against the background of the sharpest decline in the economy in generations, with the fortunes of what will actually happen next dependent on the progress of a deadly disease.

The opposition parties already suggest that the scale of what the government is proposing falls short of what will be required.

Rishi Sunak admitted in his statement "our plan will not be the last - it is the next", knowing full well that the profound economic impact of the coronavirus crisis is far from passed.

Read Laura's blog in full here.

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Clive Docwra, Managing Director of construction consultancy McBains, said it is important to get the economy moving but that the "long-term outlook is not great".

"Many developers are hesitant about committing to new projects against a backdrop of coronavirus, and it's likely the government will need to provide ongoing support for some time to come – or, at the very least, until an effective treatment or vaccine is found," he says.

However he welcomed measures such as the Kickstart scheme and traineeship money which he said would "give developers confidence that returning to full operational capacity may well be a risk worth taking.”

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What does today’s summer statement mean for your job, your wages or your business?

Let the #yourworkyourmoney podcast team answer your query, just post your question on social media including the hashtag.

And listen via @bbcsounds http://bbc.in/3iHz1XK

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Thomas Woollard is 21 years old and has begun the process of applying for Universal Credit. He plans to look into the Chancellor's placement scheme for young people in more detail.

“I’d like to see if it would benefit me," he says.

"If I can get on to the scheme and get some income from somewhere I’ll definitely consider it."

Thomas also wonders whether businesses will invest in the people on the scheme or just take the free labour the government is offering.

He adds: “Will businesses see this as an investment in themselves, in the country and invest in young people or will they just take the paid work they are given?"

James Storey is landlord of a small stand-alone pub in Gateshead. He says that the chancellor's plans won't help people like him.

"I run a small pub which is not linked to the major breweries. I won't benefit from the hospitality plans as we don't serve food.

"Also, due to social distancing rules, I only have 17 seats available on my premises.

"I originally had four staff prior to lockdown. Two are not coming back as they have new jobs in the NHS call centre.

"Many customers will continue to use cheap supermarket booze and drink in open spaces.

"There is nothing in this announcement for small local pubs".

Gina Broadhurst, co-founder of the ForgottenLtd Campaign for small limited company directors, said: "It makes no sense for the government to reward companies for bringing employees back from furlough or creating new apprenticeships if those same companies are going out of business.

She says "hundreds of thousands of small business owners employing millions of people have received zero support and are on the verge of collapse."

"For them, the chancellor's silence was deafening. While the cut in VAT for the hospitality industry is to be welcomed, as are the job creation and apprenticeship schemes, millions of small businesses are still missing out on support.

Caroline Nokes, Chair of Women and Equalities Committee has welcomed the "speedily delivered and far reaching" measures in the chancellor's economic statement.

But she said, "the lack of focus on using his three-point plan to boost gender equality is a missed opportunity.

"There was no mention of helping businesses in sectors where women are disproportionately represented and which remain shut down, for example the beauty industry.

"It was disappointing to hear no mention of government support for the childcare sector, which predominantly employs women. We know that affordable, reliable childcare is key in enabling women to return to work and stay in work."

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Our teams have been working on some guides to help make sense of what today's announcements means.

Here's a round-up of our explainers:

• What the chancellor's summer statement means for you
• How will the stamp duty holiday work?
• What happens when the furlough scheme ends?
• What is VAT and how does it work?
• Where will the money come from?

Today's announcement is not just about trying to protect jobs but also encouraging employers who might still be having a very difficult time, to keep employees in work.

The government also know that another huge package is not necessarily going to be enough to stop some people losing their jobs

What they are trying to avoid is mass unemployment.

This isn't the end of it - there's a question of how this is going to be paid for.

All that is to come - and that could be a much more difficult day for the chancellor.

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Rishi Sunak has just finished taking questions from MPs in the Commons.

Chancellor cuts VAT in emergency plan to save jobs.

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The government is offering a carrot to businesses if they hang on to their workers.

£1,000 for every worker who returns from furlough who is still employed at the end of January.

The government says it could cost up to £9bn – a pretty blunt calculation of 9 million furloughed workers multiplied by £1000.

Of course it won’t be that simple.

The calculation facing business owners is more complicated.

Do they want to start paying 5% of employee wage costs next month, then 14% in September and then over 20% in October – followed by three months of full wages to land a prize of £1,000 during the worst recession in living memory.

A lot of that will be contingent on demand, which the chancellor has tried to stimulate in the worst-affected industries by cutting VAT and offering half-price early bird food, but it is surely wildly optimistic to think that employers will hang on for that long.

We also learned two other important things today.

First, that any idea of extending the furlough scheme – as many have called for in some form - appears dead.

Second, the government and business are realising just how much they need each other.

These programmes are big and challenging to deliver.

Rishi Sunak said early on that today is not the last intervention but the next intervention.

The biggest question of all – the question that may determine the future of hundreds of thousands of workers - is whether he’s made his carrot big enough.

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Labour's shadow justice's secretary David Lammy has tweeted his concern that law firms are not being supported.

"A Law Society survey of small firms in April found that 71% of small firms fear cashflow issues could force their closure within 6 months.

"But not a single word in the government's Plan for Jobs to protect them," he says.

BlackRock, one of the world's largest pension and money managers, offers a gentle warning in what it describes as "this blurring of monetary and fiscal policy" as very low interest rates and big government spending take off, not just in the UK, but around the world.

"While there is little likelihood of material near-term inflation, once we look out further into this decade, this blurring of monetary and fiscal policy could bring about upside inflation risks globally," said Vivek Paul, Chief Investment Strategist for the UK, BlackRock Investment Institute, the research wing of the firm.

He says investors might consider looking at inflation-linked government bonds rather than the vanilla variety.