The chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce has welcomed the Government's announcement that its furlough scheme has been extended by another month until the end of June.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the decision had been made in light of the continued social distancing measures which were extended for a further three weeks on Thursday.

The scheme, which allows firms to furlough employees with the government paying cash grants of 80% of their wages up to a maximum of £2,500 a month, was originally open for three months and backdated from March 1 to the end of May.

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Mr Sunak, said: "We've taken unprecedented action to support jobs and businesses through this period of uncertainty, including the UK-wide Job Retention Scheme. With the extension of the coronavirus lockdown measures yesterday, it is the right decision to extend the furlough scheme for a month to the end of June to provide clarity.

"It is vital for people's livelihoods that the UK economy gets up and running again when it is safe to do so, and I will continue to review the scheme so it is supporting our recovery."
There is no reason for employers to make any workers redundant following the extension of the Government's furlough scheme, the TUC has said.

Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: “The Scottish Chamber Network called for - and welcomes - this extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which provides a further level of reassurance to employers so they can continue to maintain jobs in these extraordinary times.

“However, it is clear that the furlough programme cannot be sustainable in the longer term. Business also needs to be sure there will be work to do when the employees come back, for example. This is why we also have called for clarity on a plan for recovery alongside measures which continue to prevent the spread of the virus and protect health.”

 

 

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "This is very welcome news for workers and their families.

"If the scheme had not been extended, the deadline for redundancy consultation notices would have been tomorrow. So it was vital that this announcement came quickly after the lockdown extension.

"Employers must continue to make full use of the scheme to furlough workers and protect jobs. There is no reason to make any staff redundant."

An Edinburgh travel agency using Hays Travel's platforms is the first in the UK to be matching hospital workers around the country with free accommodation.

Surgeons Quarter Travel is also calling on any accommodation provider willing to provide free beds to frontline workers to get in touch to be added to its growing directory.

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It comes after the 129-room hotel operated by Surgeons Quarter, Ten Hill Place, recently reached and exceeded 1000 free room nights provided to frontline workers at Edinburgh's hospitals during the pandemic response.

As the commercial arm of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd), its recently launched travel agency utilises Hays Travel's platforms - as well as harnessing its extensive links throughout the UK's hospitality sector.

Scott Mitchell, Managing Director at Surgeons Quarter, said: “Anything we can do to use our travel agency skills and tools to help those saving lives is a privilege."

Savings giant NS&I has ditched some plans to make products less generous, including previously announced changes to Premium Bonds.

The Treasury-backed provider, which offers a range of savings and investments products to 25 million customers, said the cancellations to its planned rate reductions will help support savers during the coronavirus pandemic.

READ MORE: Scottish bar and restaurant industry 'in distress' before Covid-19, report finds

Variable interest rate changes announced on February 17 will be cancelled and customers should disregard letters about them, it said.

The announcement may bring a bit of relief to savers, with the Bank of England base rate currently sitting at just 0.1% and many providers having slashed returns on savings pots.

But NS&I (National Savings and Investments) said cuts to fixed-term products, also announced in February, will still go ahead from May 1.

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