Greater Manchester MPs call for more support for businesses and employees

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has joined other Greater Manchester MPs in urging the Government to provide more support for businesses and employees across Greater Manchester.

In letters co-ordinated by the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Greater Manchester, Lucy Powell, the MPs have asked Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Business Secretary Alok Sharma to urgently address issues with the current package of measures that the Government have put in place to support businesses and employees through the Coronavirus outbreak.

The five recommendations that the MPs have put forward in these letters are based on issues that have been identified by Sir Richard Leese, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA) lead for business and the economy during the Coronavirus crisis. They are:

1. The Government’s guidance to employers about compliance with public health measures needs to be improved to remove ambiguity
2. The scheme for the self-employed should be extended to include those who have set up their businesses since April 2019.
3. Furlough worker payments under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme should reach employers as soon as possible and the scheme should be extended to those who started in their roles shortly before the lock-down.
4. The £10,000 grant for small businesses should be extended to those who operate from shared premises and who may pay a share of business rates.
5. The administration of the Business Interruption Loan Scheme should be improved.

Andrew Gwynne said:

“I appreciate the difficulty of the task facing the Government in setting up so many schemes to support businesses and employees at the same time and welcome the work that they have done on this.

 

“However, it is vital that any flaws in these schemes are identified and dealt with as soon as possible, as time is not on our side in ensuring that businesses and jobs are not lost.

 

“This is a serious set of proposals and I hope that the Chancellor and Business Secretary take these suggestions on board, so that we can save jobs and businesses across Greater Manchester and beyond.”