Welsh Secretary comments on Plan for Jobs announcement

Here is a statement from the Secretary of State for Wales, following the Chancellor’s Plan for Jobs announcement earlier today.

Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart said:

“Coronavirus is the biggest challenge to public health and our economy for decades, but for as long as the pandemic continues the UK Government will support jobs and businesses across Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom.

“The Chancellor has demonstrated again today that we will alter our support package depending on the latest situation and thousands of people in Wales will now receive increased support from the Job Support Scheme and self-employed grants.

“One of our key aims has been to keep people connected to their employers so they have a route back to work and new figures show that in August 90% of people using the Job Retention Scheme in Wales returned to their jobs.

“We have provided unprecedented support for the Welsh economy throughout the pandemic and today’s announcement shows that it will continue through the difficult months ahead.”

• HMRC has published its October Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme statistics today. For Wales these show the number of furloughed employments has reduced from 210,550 in July to 130,400 in August, with 90% of people using the Job Retention Scheme returning to their jobs.
• In addition to direct UK Government support to people and businesses in Wales, the Welsh Government has received an additional £4.4 billion on top of the block grant.