Should furlough be extended? Clarification regarding furlough is desperately needed to help those on a dangerous precipice with their personal and business finances.
With the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme end date snow piercing towards No.11 Rishi Sunak needs to take action and an extension of Government support shouldn't be dismissed.
The issue of furlough extension was raised in the House of Commons only last week during PMQ's where Boris Johnson rejected the idea and suggested everyone instead keep an eye on the budget, due to be announced on March 3rd.
Institute for Public Policy Research: Research by The Institute for Public Policy Research has warned upto 9-million jobs are at stake if the Government offers no more assistance.
The think tank states almost 600,000 UK employers are at risk of business collapse by spring 2021. For many workers in these businesses having at least part of their salary covered during this challenging time has been vital to ensure they can survive.
IPPR's senior economist Carsten Jung has now publicly commented that 'this is a moment of great peril for more than half a million UK employers as their cash reserves run perilously low and their businesses hang on by a thread.'
More firms are at risk now 'More firms are at risk now than at any time during and since the pandemic began. In the worst hit industries such as hospitality and the arts at least two in five employers are in the cash danger zone'
'In just a few weeks UK businesses face a dangerous precipice when the many kinds of Government support that have kept them going for a year are suddenly taken away. For the sake of the economic recovery, businesses should be given a boost. The time for action to save our economy is now.'
The route out of lockdown, and whether people will be able to return to work remains unclear and appears to ride on the vaccine rollout across the UK. This is necessary and accepted by many but clarity is needed to reduce financial worries and anxieties for those concerned.
'Millions of jobs and livelihoods depend on the Chancellor stopping firms going broke as the pandemic is brought under control. By extending and enhancing the current support schemes, with cash injections into firms for a long-term stake in the future, the Government could ensure viable businesses survive.'