Nick Vandyke, the local Conservative candidate for the London Assembly, has welcomed the Plan for Jobs set out by Chancellor Rishi Sunak (pictured) on Wednesday 8 July, saying it provides much-needed support to businesses across West Ham.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the Government has said it will do whatever it takes to protect people and businesses from the immediate economic crisis. As part of this, more than 29,300 jobs have been supported through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, allowing employers to put workers on furlough while the Government supports their wages, in West Ham.

The Chancellor has now set out the second phase of the Government's response, focusing on jobs: supporting people to find the jobs that are out there, creating new jobs through investing in infrastructure, and protecting jobs by revitalising the hard-hit sectors upon which many jobs depend.

As part of this, employers will be encouraged to retain staff who have been on the furlough scheme, with the Government paying a one-off bonus of £1,000 for every employee who was furloughed and who is kept on until January.

Also included in the Government's £30 billion Plan for Jobs:

• A temporary cut in VAT for the tourism and hospitality sectors, to give a much-needed boost to some of the industries hardest hit by coronavirus.
• A new Eat Out to Help Out Scheme, giving people up to 50 per cent off meals out at restaurants, pubs and cafes on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in August.
• The temporary removal of stamp duty on all homes under £500,000 until the end of March 2021, to catalyse the housing market.
• A new Kickstart Scheme, which will create hundreds of thousands of new, fully-subsidised jobs for young people.

The Chancellor's Summer Economic Update, along with the New Deal for Britain announced by the Prime Minister last week, will benefit people and businesses across London. This includes:

• Up to £22.1 million for shovel-ready local infrastructure projects across London.
• £10.3 million through the Short Term Home Building Fund to help smaller developers access finance for new housing developments.
• A share of £250 million investment to make progress on replacing out-dated mental health dormitories with single-bed accommodation, allowing Oxleas, Camden and Islington, and Barnet, Enfield and Haringey NHS Trusts to improve their mental health inpatient wards.

Following our Plan for Jobs, the Government will soon turn its attention to a third phase – a moment for rebuilding. The Chancellor will produce a Budget and a Spending Review in the autumn.

Commenting, Nick Vandyke said:

Throughout the coronavirus crisis, the Conservative Government has stood squarely behind people and businesses with one of the largest and most comprehensive packages of support anywhere in the world.

As we turn our attention to carefully reopening our economy, it is right that the Chancellor is doing everything in his power to support, protect and create jobs. Our plan will be a lifeline for countless people and businesses across West Ham.

By levelling up the whole country, we will give businesses the confidence to retain and hire, create jobs in every region and ensure young people have the opportunity of a better start.

Notes

• Rewarding and incentivising employers who successfully bring furloughed staff back through a new Jobs Retention Bonus Scheme. To encourage employers to keep their employees on, we are introducing the Jobs Retention Bonus Scheme, a one-off payment of £1,000 to the business for every employee who was furloughed previously and who is successfully kept on continuously until January. Our message to business is clear: if you stand by your employee, we will stand by you.
• Temporarily cutting VAT for the tourism and hospitality sectors, giving a much-needed boost to some of the industries hardest hit by coronavirus. From 15 July 2020, we will cut the rate of VAT applied across the UK to hospitality, accommodation and attractions from 20 per cent to 5 per cent until 12 January 2021. This could support almost 2 million businesses and protect 2.5 million jobs.
• Launching a new Eat Out to Help Out scheme – something that has never been done in this country ever before – giving people up to 50 per cent off meals out, encouraging them back into restaurants, cafes and pubs. Anyone who eats at a participating business, Monday to Wednesday for the month of August, can receive up to 50 per cent off food and non-alcoholic drinks, up to a value of £10 per person. Businesses can claim the money back from the government weekly, receiving funds within 5 working days. Guidance for businesses will be published next week.
• Temporarily scrapping stamp duty on all homes under £500,000 to catalyse the housing market and boost confidence – helping to drive growth and create jobs. From 9 July 2020 until 31 March 2021, we are increasing the threshold at which stamp duty applies from £125,000 to £500,000. This will mean, from tomorrow, 90 per cent of people getting on or moving up the property ladder will pay no stamp duty at all – equating to an average saving of £4,500.  
• Creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs for young people through a new £2 billion Kickstart Scheme, to give young people the best possible chance of getting a job. The scheme will directly pay businesses to create new, decent and high-quality jobs for any 16-24 year old at risk of long-term unemployment. Funding available for each job will cover 100 per cent of the National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, for six months in total, plus an admin fee – for a grant of around £6,500 per placement. There will be no cap on the number of places available, and our £2 billion will initially fund hundreds of thousands of new placements.