Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support businesses seeking to hire new employees during the covid-19 outbreak.

This Government is committed to both protecting existing jobs as well as supporting job creation to ensure we build back better after this crisis. At the heart of these plans is a £30 billion investment in jobs. In his Summer Economic Update, the Chancellor – as part of his Plan for Jobs - announced a £3 billion investment in green infrastructure to create thousands of green jobs, a cut to Stamp Duty to support an industry that employs almost 750,000 people, a £2 billion investment in the Kickstart scheme to get our youth into work, as well as doubling the number of work coaches and tripling the number of traineeships.

Our investment includes:

• Construction Talent Retention Scheme – Supports the redeployment of workers at risk of redundancy to opportunities across the UK.

• Green Jobs Challenge Fund – The Government will invest up to £40 million in a Green Jobs Challenge Fund for environmental charities and public authorities to create and protect 5,000 jobs in England.
• Kickstart Scheme - Provides funding to create new job placements for those aged 16-24 on Universal Credit who are at risk of long-term unemployment. Employers of all sizes can apply for funding which covers National Minimum Wage, NICs and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions.