Furloughed Employees 2021-06-22
2021-06-22
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
Concern about the number of furloughed individuals moving back into employment.
What recent estimate his Department has made of the number of furloughed employees moving back into work?
Between the end of January and the end of April, 1.5 million people left the furlough scheme. The most recent business survey from the Office for National Statistics estimates that the number of employees furloughed continued to decline after that point, to approximately 2 million at the end of May.
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Assessment & feedback
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Q2
Direct Answer
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Context
Recalling that at the start of the pandemic, many commentators feared unprecedented scale of job losses.
Does my right hon. Friend recall that at the start of the pandemic, many commentators feared that it would lead to unemployment on an unprecedented scale? Has he estimated that impact of his furlough scheme on protecting jobs?
The furlough scheme has supported more than 11.5 million jobs since the start of the pandemic, and forecasts suggested that unemployment would peak at around 12%. Those forecasts now show unemployment peaking at half that level, which means 2 million fewer people losing their jobs than previously feared.
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Assessment & feedback
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Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
Employers in the constituency with employees still on furlough are desperate to return them to work but face uncertainty over lifting restrictions.
The figures my right hon. Friend gave in his earlier answers are encouraging, but some employers in my constituency with employees still on furlough tell me that they are desperate to get those employees back to work, but the uncertainty over when restrictions will finally be lifted is holding them back. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the way to get the economy moving and get those employees back to work is for restrictions to be lifted by 19 July?
My hon. Friend is right, and my hope and expectation is that we lift those restrictions on 19 July. By that point, we will have done what we set out to do, which is to get extra jabs in more people's arms to provide us with that extra level of protection.
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Assessment & feedback
While the Chancellor expressed hope for lifting restrictions by 19 July, he did not commit to it explicitly or provide details on how this would support employees returning to work.
Response accuracy
Q4
Partial Answer
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Context
Independent experts have warned the Government multiple times about inadequate support for those who need to isolate.
Independent experts have told the Government 12 times that the failure to provide adequate financial support to people self-isolating has contributed to the spread of covid, endangering lives and livelihoods. Will the Chancellor explain why the Treasury instructed Government officials actively to supress information about the furlough scheme?
The hon. Lady is wrong, because the Government did no such thing. Indeed, guidance on usage of the furlough scheme was there in black and white—I am looking at it—and plain for everyone to see from the start. At the beginning of this crisis we improved the way that statutory sick pay works to deal with self-isolation.
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Assessment & feedback
The Chancellor did not address the specific question about suppressing information but instead highlighted actions taken by the Government at the start of the crisis.
Denial
Shifting Focus
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Q5
Partial Answer
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Context
The rapid pace of economic recovery and plans for further reopening have raised concerns about sectors needing more support post-furlough phase-out.
Given the rapid pace of our economic recovery and the plans for the further reopening of the economy, I support my right hon. Friend's decision to phase out furlough by the end of September. However, does he accept that a small number of sectors are likely to require yet further support after that time—not least the travel sector?
My right hon. Friend is right to highlight the difficult circumstances facing that sector, which is why I think in aggregate more than £7 billion of support has been provided to the sector through various means. For example, regional airports are paying no business rates for the first half of this year.
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Assessment & feedback
While acknowledging difficulties and providing some figures on past support, he did not commit to further specific support after September.
Response accuracy