Stroud's MP Siobhan Baillie has released a statement following the announcement of Chancellor Rishi Sunak's new jobs scheme which is set to replace furlough.

A statement from Ms Baillie said:

The Chancellor has recognised the situation has changed recently and that workers and businesses will need extra support now tighter Covid restrictions are in place for the months to come despite the economy moving in the right direction again.

I am pleased that furlough has been replaced, especially now many employees have left the scheme and are back at work. Something new was needed and the government has shown flexibility by replacing it with the Job Support Scheme.

This will top up Stroud workers’ wages if they can only work part-time in viable jobs. In practice this is directly funding businesses to

protect those viable jobs and people’s wages into the winter, rather than laying employees off.

It is a more targeted scheme and it looks to be a more stringent scheme too especially because larger firms will need to prove they have been adversely affected by Covid to claim it.

I also welcome the VAT increase has been postponed from January until 31st March next year. This means Stroud’s hospitality and tourism sectors will be able to benefit from the existing low 5% VAT rate until then.

The stricter restrictions are adversely affecting these sectors that are so important to our town. I do very much understand the frustration around the 10pm curfew for those who run restaurants and pubs, and this announcement will help

Another big help is the Chancellor allowing businesses, which deferred their VAT, to split their payments into smaller amounts over a longer period rather than having to pay a lump sum at the end of March next year.

Loan schemes to help struggling businesses and the self-employed have also been extended.

The government has again introduced or extended generous support for workers and businesses to help us all over these coming winter months. I believe this latest package of measures is also more sustainable and targeted too because it recognises we must give support but that we must also all learn to live with this virus for the foreseeable future.