Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveils massive cut in VAT to benefit hospitality and tourism as he announces his Plan for Jobs
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has slashed VAT on food, accommodation and attractions in a bid to support the tourism and hospitality sectors – a move that is likely to be warmly welcomed in the Highlands.
He used his summer economic update in parliament to announce a package of employment support which he called a Plan for Jobs that will see windfalls for employers retaining rather than losing staff.
Businesses will also get bonuses paid for by the UK government if they employing newly qualified apprentices.
While 16-24 year olds claiming Universal Credit and in danger of becoming long-term unemployed will have gainful employment places subsidised completely by the government in a bid to get them into work.
The Chancellor said the Plan for Jobs is the start of the second part of a three phase plan – the first stage being the stage was a £160 billion support package announced towards the end of March that included paying the wages of nearly 12 million people.
The plan aims to support employment by focussing on skills and young people, jobs creation with investment in shovel-ready projects and investing in “greening our infrastructure.”
One novel idea was the Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme for diners in August which will provide a discount for those choosing to eat out with discounts available per person of up to £10 – all funded by the government.
Among the measures announced by the Chancellor are:
- A £1000 Job Retention Bonus will be paid to firms that keep furloughed workers in work as of January 31, 2021
- A £2 billion Kickstart Scheme to create hundreds of thousands of fully subsidised six-month job placements for young people aged 16-24 claiming Universal Credit
- A total of £1.6 billion will be invested in scaling up employment support schemes, training and apprenticeships to help people looking for a job
- That includes: £2,000 for businesses for each new apprentice they hire under 25, £111 million to triple the number of traineeships, £17 million to triple the number of sector-based work academy placements, nearly £900 million to double the number of work coaches to 27,000, and £32 million more for the National Careers Service.
- Tens of thousands of jobs to be created by bringing forward work on £8.8 billion of new infrastructure, decarbonisation and maintenance projects
- That includes: £3 billion green investment package to support around 140,000 green jobs and upgrade buildings and reduce emissions,
There were other areas of spending in England that are likely to have significant Barnet Consequentials, they are:
- Homeowners can apply for vouchers from a £2 billion Green Homes Grant scheme to pay for green improvements to save energy and reduce costs while creating thousands of jobs for tradespeople.
- A £1 billion programme to make public buildings like schools and hospitals greener
- A £5.8 billion package for shovel-ready construction projects to get Britain building
- This includes: £1.5 billion for hospital maintenance and upgrades, £100 million for our local roads network, over £1 billion to start to rebuild schools, £760 million for key maintenance work on schools and colleges, £1 billion for local projects to boost local economic recovery in the places that need it most, £142 million for court maintenance to repair around 100 courts across England.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “Throughout this crisis I have never been the prisoner of ideology. For me, this has never just been a question of economics, but of values.
“Our plan has a clear goal: to protect, support and create jobs. It will give businesses the confidence to retain and hire. To create jobs in every part of our country. To give young people a better start. To give people everywhere the opportunity of a fresh start.”
