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IEA responds to figures from the British Chambers of Commerce

Responding to figures from the British Chambers of Commerce which suggest nearly half of businesses plan to furlough at least half of their staff under the government’s wage scheme, Andy Mayer, Chief Operating Officer at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:

“The figures in the BCC survey are disappointing but not surprising.

“The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was designed to be generous, rightly so in a time of major upheaval for businesses and staff, but the scheme as set out by the Chancellor gives business the wrong incentives.

“Rather than encourage businesses to redeploy staff to roles that could be beneficial – either to pandemic relief or sustaining economic output – the scheme encourages businesses to furlough healthy and useful employees and have future taxpayers foot the bill.”

Notes to editors

For media enquiries please contact Emily Carver, Media Manager: 07715 942 731.

For further IEA reading on the coronavirus job retention scheme, click here.

The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.

The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties.

BCC Coronavirus Business Impact Tracker: First results show heavy toll on UK business communities as majority of firms face cash flow crisis