the government will continue to spend
billions of pounds to pay the salaries
of millions of workers for months to
come as it promised to protect the jobs
of those furloughed until October
now the Chancellor Rishi sunic said the
scheme introduced to prevent mass
redundancies needed to adapt as the
economy reopens employers will have to
contribute around five percent of
salaries from August rising to just over
20 percent before the scheme runs out at
the end of October now the program
currently supports more than 8.5 million
employees with people able to go back to
work part-time from July Chancellor also
pledged to extend support for the 2.5
million self-employed who now receive
grants through to August the estimated
cost of both schemes stands at around a
hundred billion pounds well the news
comes as the number of people with kovin
19 whose deaths have been reported in
the last 24 hours
stood at 324 this brings the total
number of deaths to 38,000 161 with the
latest here's our economics editor
faisal islam when the pups don't open
neither did the Brewers and so the
government's job scheme has helped
hugely keep eight and a half million
workers on payrolls on tap effectively
including here at wild card breweries
but only change to that generosity might
push some over the edge
it wouldn't be viable for us for the
photo scheme to diminish and us to
contribute more if we don't have clarity
as to what is going on because the end
the day if a bar is closed and there is
no money coming in how are you supposed
to financially contribute to that scheme
but it's just simply going to mean lots
and lots of people out of work
at least those eight and a half million
workers will now continue to get the
bulk of their wages paid for by the
taxpayer in July this can now be on a
part-time basis offering flexibility for
companies facing workers back to work in
August the government will continue to
pay 80% of salary but firms will have to
pay National Insurance and Pensions
about 5% on average then in September
the taxpayer contribution will go down
to 70% and then 60% in October a further
two and a half million self-employed
workers at least will be eligible for a
slightly less generous grant
representing 70% of wages over three
months capped at six and a half thousand
pounds the car industry today revealed
and ninety-nine point seven percent
slump in sales in April that's one
reason why the total cost of both these
unprecedented schemes is heading towards
a hundred billion pounds who have
essentially borrowed money about the
same as is spent over that eight month
period as on the NHS but the Chancellor
says it's still value for money
first of all in aggregate this scheme is
I think very generous eight months is a
long time to have the support if you
look at the total employer contribution
over that entire period on a typical
employee average employee on the scheme
it will amount to the employer making a
five percent contribution the opposition
says it's taking risks with unemployment
some sectors like for example
hospitality look like they could be
locked down for really quite a long time
they're not going to have the cash flow
necessarily to have employers paying in
to support staff so this could lead
potentially to major job losses the
government has a delicate three-way
balancing act between controlling the
pandemic saving jobs and the cost to the
taxpayer it's essential judgment today
is to carry on spending generously more
than expected and that means a third of
the workforce 11 million workers will
continue to have the vast bulk of their
wages funded by the taxpayer for most of
the year
I lick it up tear food though to get a
feel it is the self-employed like I own
a Fife a folk singer who feel relieved
by the announcement yes but still
concerned about the future
first I am very much appreciative that
we are going to be supported until
August I worry about my ability to keep
Tooting and keep being a musician
especially after years and years of
dreaming and graduating with a degree in
music it's very hard but the treasury's
say that the self-employed were already
treated differently for example being
allowed to carry on working while
claiming the support the message from
the Chancellor that his spending will
continue through this summer but as the
economy reopens it must then come to an
end
faisal islam BBC news our chief
political correspondent Viki Young is at
Westminster Viki these schemes they've
bit saved millions of jobs they're very
popular tricky then for mr. su nak to be
changing them yeah I think the
Chancellor might look back and think
while announcing all that help with
broad political backing well that might
have been the easy bit taking it away
even gradually without causing a real
spike in unemployment could well be a
lot more difficult now he's talked
before about the country heading for a
recession today he talked about hardship
because he can't save every job and
there are many who think that crunch
point could be coming quite soon just
look at the hospitality industry you
have a restaurant you haven't had income
for months you've got no guaranteed
opening date you've got no guarantee
that customers will come back in the
same way there could be social
distancing restrictions so even
contributing a tiny part of the wages in
August might not be remotely possible
now the government has been dealing with
this terrible health crisis it looks
like there's an economic one coming down
the track there's been massive state
intervention really like a huge dose of
painkiller but the Chancellor today
making it clear that is going to hurt
when it wears off okay Vicki Thank You
Vicki young they're at Westminster