The Government has announced that over 2 million self-employed people are receiving income support and 9 million employees are on furlough at a value of £20 billion.
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme were launched by the Government to protect people’s income and employment.
In Gosport alone, 3000 self-employed residents have received a share of £9.3 million while 9800 employees have been furloughed. This is just part of the South East, where 352 000 self-employed people have benefited from a total of £1.117 billion and 103 5400 are on furlough.
As workplaces closed on March 24th to stop the spread of Covid-19, many businesses and self-employed people have seen a significant drop in the demand for their services and were facing financial hardship as lockdown continued. The Chancellor and Prime Minister promised to do whatever it took to protect employers, employees and individuals and introduced an unprecedented package of support. These two schemes as just a fraction of what is available, from the Bounce Back Loans, to Future Funds, mortgage holidays and Hardship Funds.
Local MP, Caroline Dinenage, commented:
“From the correspondence that I have with my constituents, I know that many have been applying for financial support as they are unable to work throughout the pandemic.
“It is great to see the figures that show exactly how many jobs and incomes have been protected by the Government in these difficult times.
“These are hardworking people and families who, through no fault of their own, were facing the financial impact of Covid-19. I am very grateful to the Chancellor for putting this package in place for my constituents and will continue to help them wherever possible as we face the future.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said:
“Our economic response to coronavirus was designed to keep people in work, protect people’s incomes and support businesses. These measures have been on a scale unmatched by an government in recent history. All to give us the best chance of recovering quickly as the economy reopens.
“Now our energies are focused on getting people back to work safely, growing the economy and ensuring people can thrive in the new post-Covid world.”
