Labour: Poor targeting of government support is putting jobs and whole industries at risk

New research by the Labour Party has revealed that the Chancellor missed a major opportunity to save jobs by failing to set out measures in his Summer Statement that protect UK manufacturing.

Analysis by the Labour Party of industry data suggests that in the week after Rishi Sunak’s Summer Statement 16,000 more manufacturers planned redundancies than when it was delivered.

Make UK found 53 per cent of manufacturers reported redundancy plans in the period after the statement, up from 41.2 per cent at the end of June. This is also up from 25 per cent in May.

On a visit to Starship, an autonomous robotic technology company in Milton Keynes, the Labour leader said that this is “another example of the government poorly targeting support, leaving thousands of jobs and even whole industries exposed.”

Manufacturers are echoing Labour’s calls for an extension of the furlough scheme to the hardest hit sectors. Make UK have previously said the furlough must be extended for “key strategic sectors” if “we are to mitigate the worst impact of potential job losses.”

Speaking at Starship Technologies, an autonomous robotic delivery company in Milton Keynes, Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer said:

“The threat to manufacturing jobs is another example of the government poorly targeting support, leaving thousands of jobs and even whole industries exposed.

“We want the government to get this right. We are a week out from the winding down of the furlough scheme –the government needs to urgently abandon its one-size-fits-all approach and target support where it most needed.

“The UK is home to world-leading, innovative companies which will be crucial to helping our economy recover. But hard-hit sectors like manufacturing need more targeted support to stem the tide of job losses and protect people’s livelihoods.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

• Headline figures are based upon Labour Party analysis of Make UK’s regular survey of members on plans for redundancies and other business decisions in their Manufacturing Monitor.

• Their survey on the 29th of May (field work 19-26th May) found 25% reporting redundancies, whilst their 3rd of July Survey (field work 22-28 June) found 41.2% reporting redundancies. This rose to 53% in their 20th July Survey, carried out between the 7-14 July, almost entirely and immediately after the Chancellor’s statement on the 8th of July.

https://www.makeuk.org/news-and-events/news/industry-calls-for-national-skills-task-force-as-redundancies-loom

https://www.makeuk.org/news-and-events/news/summer-statement-should-put-industry-and-skills-centre-stage-of-recovery-plan

https://www.makeuk.org/news-and-events/news/furlough-extension-vital-for-key-industry-sectors-to-prevent-jobs-bloodbath

• The Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) is a comprehensive list of UK businesses used by government for statistical purposes. Using the IDBR we can estimate the number of manufacturing businesses in the UK.

• This can be combined with Make UK survey data on the percentage of manufacturers planning redundancies to give an estimate of the total number planning job losses in the UK.