Neil O’Brien (Harborough) (Con): Oadby and Wigston in my
constituency was the first place in the country to receive extra
support because of our local lockdown. I pay tribute to Treasury
officials and Ministers for putting it in place so quickly, but
what is being done through the Kickstartscheme and
other schemes to create new jobs and to fight unemployment?
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (): My hon.
Friend raises a good point, and it speaks to the point raised on
youth unemployment a moment ago. We have invested £2 billion in
the Kickstart scheme. We are tripling
traineeships. We have the £2,000 for firms taking on
apprenticeships. That is something that the Secretary of State
for Work and Pensions is particularly focused on, as well as the
doubling of work coaches. Linked to that is our investment in
green jobs through net zero and the package that was announced by
the Chancellor, including the decarbonisation of public buildings
and homes and the creation of green jobs. We are bringing forward
the £5 billion infrastructure package that the Prime Minister
announced the week before the summer economic update. We then
need to link those jobs to skills through schemes such as the
Kickstart so that for those who are not able to
retain their jobs, we are able to get them into the new jobs of
the future.
(Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab) [V]: Data out
today shows that over 1,700 more people in my constituency were
unemployed in August 2020 than in August 2019, and that is before
the existing furlough scheme ends. With unemployment in the
north- east already rocketing to 6.6%, the highest of any UK
region, why is the Chancellor allowing damage not seen since
Thatcher in the 1980s to befall my region?
: The hon. Lady
is usually one of the most constructive Members. To suggest that
a pandemic that all countries are grappling with is down to some
sort of ideological approach by the Government is not accurate.
The Government have put in place a furlough scheme for eight
months that stands very good comparison with those of other
countries. We have more than £200 billion of measures to support
businesses, including in her constituency, and that is not only
to help retain people in jobs. From a peak of 8.9 million on
furlough, more than half of those remained in employment through
the job support scheme. We are ensuring that more businesses are
able to bring their staff back. But at the same time we are being
honest. Some businesses will not be able to survive. That is why
we put £2 billion into the Kickstart scheme. It
is why we are tripling traineeships. It is why we put funding
into apprenticeships, with a £2,000 sign-on. It is why we are
bringing forward infra- structure investment. It is to create
those jobs for her constituents.
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