Furlough scheme continues to support thousands of jobs

The UK Government furlough scheme is continuing to support thousands of jobs in Banff and Buchan – with an increase from 3600 in December to 5400 in January.

The figures from HMRC show that 13 per cent of the eligible workforce in the constituency are benefiting from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).

A further 400 claims have been made under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) in Banff and Buchan, bringing the total up to 1800 and a take up rate of 37 per cent.

All of mainland Scotland remains under level four Coronavirus restrictions, although primary 1-3 and nursery pupils have returned to school, along with some senior pupils at secondary school.

MP for Banff and Buchan David Duguid said: “These job support schemes launched by the UK Government nearly a year ago continue to help thousands of people here in Banff and Buchan.

“Without the furlough scheme, many of these jobs could have been lost.

“The self-employment figures also show that 1800 people have received support payments – with an average of £3200.

“By protecting the wages of workers across Banff and Buchan, the UK Government is helping to avoid the worst impact of this crisis.

“The Chancellor is due to announce the next steps in this process in his Budget this week.

“With real progress being made on the vaccine front, the end is in sight and I know that we all want to get back to something approaching normality as soon as we can.

“I would urge everyone to keep following the guidelines on social distancing and hygiene measures while the vaccine roll-out continues."

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.