London leaders issue ‘urgent’ call for further business support as furlough scheme ends

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and the leader of Westminster city council have called on the government for more support for businesses ahead of the furlough scheme ending this weekend.

The government’s job retention scheme, aimed at helping workers through the pandemic, will be replaced by a less generous job support scheme from November.

 That will cover up to two-thirds of an employee’s salary if they work 20% of their usual hours.

But Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “For many businesses facing acute financial problems in London’s retail, hospitality and cultural sectors this won’t be enough to prevent further closures and the devastation of more unemployment.”

He said the collapse of tourism has left these sectors without any prospect of returning to normal levels of trade for many months to come.

Khan added: “We urgently need a more comprehensive package of financial aid from the Government which reaches all of the businesses now facing the real prospect of having to close their doors as a result of Covid-19.”