Ruth Cadbury Urges Chancellor to Extend Furlough Scheme
Brentford & Isleworth MP says her constituency will be especially hard hit
Ruth Cadbury, MP for Brentford & Isleworth has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak to urge the Government to extend the furlough scheme and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) for the hardest hit sectors of our economy.
She says that her constituency has a particular concentration of employment in the worst affected industries and faces a sharp rise in local poverty if an extension is not granted.
Currently the furlough scheme is set to end on the 31 October with the second payment to self-employed workers having just been made with no indication that further disbursements are to be made.
In her letter Ms Cadbury highlighted how many residents would be impacted by a spike in job losses, especially due to the large role that aviation, tourism and creative sector play in the local economy.
Hounslow Council is also calling for targeted support for aviation communities following a stark report which forecasts thousands of job losses and a possible £189 million hit to the borough’s economy.
With thousands of jobs already lost in aviation due to the impact of Covid-19, the independent report by Oxford Economics estimates that 2021 could see a further 4,000 job losses in the borough directly due to the reduced number of visitors to Heathrow. In turn, this could lead to £189.5m being lost from the local economy, extreme hardship for local families and communities whose livelihoods depend on the aviation sector, and extra pressure on government support services.
Speaking in full the MP said, ‘‘In the last week I’ve heard from so many local residents who are rightly worried and anxious about the ending of the furlough program in October. Those contacting me work across a wide range of areas; the arts, the aviation sector, hospitality, live events and many others. The one common theme is that they face the prospect of losing their job if the furlough is not extended.
“Here in Hounslow our economy and our local community is particularly reliant on jobs in the sectors which have been hit hardest.
“On top of that many people locally have been excluded from these support schemes because of how they earn their income, such as through a limited company or through short term contracts.
“Without the Government taking action and extending the furlough and SEISS we could see even greater levels of unemployment locally. With so many families already struggling to pay the bills I worry that this will see poverty skyrocket- especially for children too.
"That’s why the Chancellor needs to listen to those businesses and employees calling for an extension and extend the furlough & SEISS for the hardest hit sectors.’’
November 13, 2020