Sunak warned of ‘tidal wave’ of job losses as furlough scheme ends
The government’s coronavirus furlough scheme ends today after supporting millions of workers during the pandemic.
Ministers say the wages of more than 11 million jobs were subsidised for at least some of the scheme’s duration, at a cost of about £70bn.
There is now uncertainty over the almost one million people still thought to be on the scheme at the end of September, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates.
Meanwhile, job vacancies in the UK have hit a record of more than a million, according to recent ONS data, with openings in the hospitality and transport sectors up more than 75% in three months.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke told Sky News: “There is a lot of opportunity out there for people now. There’s never an easy moment to end these measures.
“They’ve been hugely important but it is also time to recognise that we are now, thankfully, out of the teeth of this pandemic… and we’re in a situation where normal opportunity is back out there for people to embrace.”
But economists say there is likely to be a rise in unemployment due to new redundancies, despite the fact some may be able to find work in recovering sectors such as travel and hospitality.
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‘More redundancies’ at travel firms as furlough ends – ABTA boss
Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said he still had “doubts” about whether the economy had recovered enough to re-employ all those coming off furlough.
The winding up of the scheme could hit some especially hard as it comes at the same time as the £20 Universal Credit uplift ends, and amid a background of rising energy bills.
The Liberal Democrats have warned of a “tidal wave” of job losses and want furlough to continue for some sectors.
In a letter to the chancellor, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Christine Jardine said furlough should be maintained for another six months for 10 industries particularly badly affected by the pandemic, such as air travel.
“The withdrawal of furlough risks having a devastating impact on countless families already facing a winter of soaring energy bills,” said Ms Jardine.
“The government needs to rethink its approach or the country could face a Coronavirus Black Thursday.”
The party says the extension would cost about £600m.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “I am immensely proud of the furlough scheme, and even more proud of UK workers and businesses whose resolve has seen us through an immensely difficult time.
“With the recovery well underway, and more than one million job vacancies, now is the right time for the scheme to draw to a close.
“But that in no way means the end of our support. Our Plan for Jobs is helping people into work and making sure they have the skills needed for the jobs of the future.”
Following the end of the furlough scheme, the government has launched a £500m support package for vulnerable households over winter.
The new Household Support Fund will help people with essentials over the coming months and will be distributed by councils in England.
It will be available as small grants to meet daily needs such as food, clothing, and utilities and will be available to councils from October.
The devolved administrations will receive up to £79m of the £500m.
Department store gift vouchers, stocks, and loyalty points from tech giants can be donated to charities, but not crypto.
Politics
UK considered using Iraq to process asylum seekers in Rwanda-type deal, leaked documents show
The government at one point considered using Iraq to process asylum seekers – like the Rwanda scheme – according to documents seen by Sky News.
This could have seen people sent from the UK to a country the government advises against all travel to.
The two countries already have a returns agreement – but only for people that are from Iraq.
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According to leaked correspondence between high-ranking officials, the Iraqi returns commitments were made with a “request for discretion” and no publicity.
The country was willing to move forward but did not want a formal or public agreement.
The current travel advice to Iraq on the Foreign Office website simply advises against “all travel to parts of Iraq”. However, according to the document, negotiations were fairly advanced and described in one table as “good recent progress with Iraq”.
Other government aims included enhancing cooperation with the Iranian Embassy in order to enhance returns arrangements for migrants and potential asylum seekers.
Returns agreements are also in the works for Eritrea and Ethiopia, according to documents about work undertaken by the Home Office and Foreign Office that relates to countries with the highest number of nationals arriving to the UK by small boats.
In a tranche of internal government documents seen by Sky News, even from the earliest stage of the Rwanda policy, Downing Street advisers knew there were serious problems with their proposals.
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First Rwanda relocation raids carried out
There are even private admissions that many people arriving here on small boats did so without the assistance of criminal gangs – despite their communications strategy.
Comparisons were also made to Australia’s response – to what Downing Street officials understood to be a comparable “smaller problem” than in the UK and admitted it had cost billions of Australian dollars in order for their returns processes to be fully operational.
Read more:
Man, 38, arrested in connection with small boat crossings
Sunak says migrants going to Ireland shows Rwanda scheme is working
In one document submitted to the Home Office, some of the highest-ranking officials at the time wrote that their guidance was to be “prepared to pay over the odds” to get the policy up and running. And that the initial offer from Rwanda was a “modest sum”.
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Whitehall’s official spending watchdog has priced the cost of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda at £1.8m per person for the first 300 people the government deports to Kigali.
It also disclosed that since April 2022 the Home Office has paid £220m into Rwanda’s economic transformation and integration fund, which is designed to support economic growth in Rwanda, and will continue to make payments to cover asylum processing and operational costs for individuals relocated to Rwanda.
It will also pay further amounts of £50m over the next year and an additional £50m the following year.
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A government source said: “The Home Office is spending millions every day accommodating migrants in hotels – that’s not right or fair. We’re taking action to put an end to this costly and dangerous cycle. Doing nothing is not a free option – we must act if we want to stop the boats and save lives.
“The UK is continuing to work with a range of international partners to tackle global illegal migration challenges. Our Rwanda partnership is a pioneering response to the global challenge of illegal migration, and we will get flights off the ground to Rwanda in the next nine to eleven weeks.”
Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino explained that if the hacking group was telling the truth, they would have asked for a ransom, but he “couldn’t find any request.”
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