Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps is he taking to ensure that employees retain their jobs after the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is just one element of a comprehensive package of support for businesses and it was always intended to be a temporary scheme.

As set out in the Winter Economy Plan, the Government is adjusting support as the COVID-19 situation evolves. We introduced the Job Support Scheme on 24 September, and its expansion on 9 October, to help support businesses who are either suffering from reduced demand over the winter months, or whose premises have been legally required to close. This is alongside the Job Retention Bonus, which will encourage firms to keep on furloughed workers after the closure of the CJRS.

Where firms make the decision that they cannot retain all of their staff, the Government is ensuring that those looking for work are supported through the measures announced in the Plan for Jobs, including significantly increasing help offered through Jobcentres and providing individualised advice through the National Careers Service. The Government has also launched the Kickstart Scheme, a £2bn fund to create hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people. Temporary welfare measures announced in March remain available too.