Chancellor Rishi Sunak is poised to pledge £500 million over three years to ease the end of the furlough scheme and help people back to work.
He will focus on getting people, especially over-50s, into new jobs as the government prepares for a squeeze on the cost of living, according to media reports ahead of Sunak’s speech to the Conservative party conference in Manchester later today.
People who have come off furlough and are on universal credit will be prioritised for help to find jobs, with “tailored, one-to-one support” and “recruitment advice from a skilled adviser”, while the over-50s will be given “guidance on later life planning” and “more intensive, tailored support”.
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Sunak will promise to “double down” on help for the jobs market after Covid, as he extends several schemes set up during the pandemic.
He is due to outline his vision for shaping the economy around “the forces of science, technology and imagination” and vow to “make the UK the most exciting place on the planet” through enhanced infrastructure, improved skills and scientific investment.
“At the start of this crisis I made a promise to do whatever it takes, and I’m ready to double down on that promise now as we come out of this crisis,” Sunak said.
He said the furlough scheme protected 11 million jobs and the UK was “experiencing one of the strongest and fastest recoveries of any major economy in the world”.
“But the job is not done yet and I want to make sure our economy is fit for the future, and that means providing the support and skills people need to get into work and get on in life.”
The Treasury said £500 million of new funding would be used, coming from the education and the work and pensions departments.
Further details will be set out in the spending review this month.
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