More than 6,000 workers in Melton borough have been furloughed

The government has today (Thursday) released figures on the scale of its role to prop up the economy with many businesses forced to temporarily close or scale down their operations as part of the campaign to limit the spread of Covid-19.

The total number of furloughed employments in the Melton borough - where the government pays 80 per cent of a person’s wages up to £2,500 a month - is 6,500, which is the lowest of the seven districts in Leicestershire.

Across Leicestershire, 87,300 jobs have been furloughed up to the end of May with around one-quarter of them in the Charnwood area, 14,500 in Hinckley and Bosworth and 13,200 in Blaby.

North West Leicestershire has 13,700 furloughed workers, Harborough 11,500 and Oadby and Wigston 6,600.

Grant payments of £5,800,000 have been allocated to 1,800 self-employed people in the Melton borough, which averages out at £3,222 per person.

This is also the smallest number of claimants when compared to other districts in the county.

More than £71million has been paid out to people who work for themselves across Leicestershire, including 5,300 claims in Charnwood and 3,900 in Hinckley and Bosworth.

Since the launch of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), the government has supported the wages of 110,400 jobs in Leicestershire.

An announcement was made last month, that the CJRS scheme will run until the end of October to continue the support for jobs and businesses as people return to work.

The SEISS scheme was rolled out in May and has financially supported a total of 23,100 self-employed individuals in Leicestershire.

Those eligible to claim this grant will be able to claim a second and final grant in August of up to £6,750.

Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “The UK Government is doing everything we can to protect jobs and businesses in the East Midlands and across the UK during the crisis.

“Our unprecedented job retention and self-employment support schemes have supported the livelihoods of millions and will help ensure our recovery is as swift as possible.”  

Across the East Midlands region as a whole, businesses have furloughed 559,100 jobs up to May 31 and 153,000 self-employed people have been supported to the tune of £444million.

Rutland and Melton MP, Alicia Kearns, said: “The government has provided utterly unprecedented support to protect the livelihoods of the British people.

“The pandemic presented an enormous threat, but through the Job Retention Scheme and Support Scheme for the Self-Employed, thousands of families in Rutland and Melton have been assured of a job to return to once we emerge from the pandemic.

“As we slowly return to a form of normality, the government is determined to kick-start the engine of our economy while giving people the peace of mind that they will be able to put food on the table and pay their bills.”