Business leaders in Warwickshire welcome a £30 billion package from the Chancellor to bolster jobs – but warn that they will need quick and easy access to support

Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.

“This speech was a real shift from the Chancellor in trying to get the economy restarted and getting people back to work" said Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce

Business leaders in Coventry and Warwickshire say firms across the city and the county will welcome a £30 billion package from the Chancellor to bolster jobs – but will need quick and

easy access to support if the measures are to have the desired impact.

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced a range of measures which he described as a ‘plan for jobs’ to counter the economic fall-out of the Coronavirus crisis that has led to a 25 per

cent drop in GDP in just two months.

He said he would ‘never accept unemployment as an unavoidable outcome’ as he outlined plans for the new Kickstart Scheme, where employers will be paid to create new jobs for 16-

to 24-year-olds at risk of long-term unemployment with grants of up to £6,500 per person.

The Chancellor announced a £1,000 bonus for businesses bringing back furloughed staff and keeping them in employment until January.

Further support is being made available for employers to take on trainees and apprentices while increasing the number of careers advisers and work coaches.

In the tourism and hospitality sector, the Chancellor cut VAT to five per cent on goods and services and also announced a new ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ policy that will allow the public to

claim a 50 per cent reduction up to £10 per head on sit down meals between Mondays and Wednesday’s at participating venues.

There was also an increase in the stamp duty threshold on house purchases to £500,000 until March, while the Chancellor announced investment in green jobs and reaffirmed a

commitment to infrastructure spending.

Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “This was a very bold speech from the Chancellor with another massive amount of

money being offered to support the economy and, in this instance particularly, with a real emphasis on jobs.

“The measures from Government over recent months have been very much about survival - keeping businesses going and helping to keep employees in work, even when the economy

was grinding to a halt.

“This speech was a real shift from the Chancellor in trying to get the economy restarted and getting people back to work.