• New statistics for the UK Government’s job retention and self-employment support schemes show level of support in Wales;
• 102,000 self-employed people in Wales access the Self Employment Income Support Scheme receiving £273 million in support;
• More than 316,000 jobs in Wales have been furloughed ensuring people can return to work after the outbreak;

The UK Government’s unprecedented package of coronavirus support has protected the incomes of 418,000 people in Wales according to statistics published today (Thursday).

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self Employment Income Support Scheme were announced by the Chancellor at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March as part of a package of measures to support jobs, businesses and individuals affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

Today’s figures show 316,500 jobs in Wales have been furloughed up to the 31st May 2020, across a wide range of sectors including retail, agriculture and construction.

Cardiff has seen 36,000 people furloughed, with 23,000 receiving support through the CJRS in the city of Swansea.

Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:

The UK Government is doing everything we can to, protect jobs and businesses in Wales 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 and possible.

Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart said:

The UK Government said it would do whatever it took to support the people and businesses of Wales through the pandemic and we have produced an unprecedented package of measures to deliver on that promise.

So far, more than 316,000 Welsh jobs have been supported by the job retention scheme while £273m has been provided to support 102,000 self-employed people. People and businesses in Wales have also benefited from UK-wide schemes such as VAT deferral, company loans and Universal Credit, while the Welsh Government has been allocated an additional £2.2 billion in direct coronavirus funding.

The UK Government has provided certainty for employers and workers to ensure that Wales’s economy is ready to bounce back from the pandemic.

Nationally, employers in the wholesale and retail sectors have furloughed the highest number of employers, covering 1.6 million jobs, followed by accommodation and food service employers furloughing 1.4 million. The CJRS scheme will continue to support jobs until the end of October, with flexible part-time furloughing beginning in July to support businesses as the economy is carefully reopened.

The SEISS scheme has also been extended with those eligible able to claim a second and final grant in August of up to £6570.

The two schemes are part of a comprehensive economic package of support including Bounce Back loans, income tax deferrals, rental support, increased levels of Universal Credit, mortgage holidays and the various business support schemes the government has introduced to protect businesses during this time. 

ENDS

Notes:

A “carpet of micro-bubbles”, developed by UK firm Silverstream Technologies, improves fuel efficiency in the shipping industry and has landed the business a £1 million deal with US shipping giant, Carnival Cruises.

The Silverstream® System, a type of Air Lubrication System (ALS), pumps tiny bubbles through vents on the hull to reduce friction between the vessel and the water, helping it glide through the ocean. The technology has been independently proven to reduce fuel consumption by 5-12%, which in turn cuts running costs.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) has been providing support and opening networks, enabling the company to experience significant international growth. This has led to deals being made with leading names in the maritime industry, including Carnival Cruises, Grimaldi Group and Lloyd’s Register.

Silverstream Technologies Founder & CEO, Noah Silberschmidt, said:

Shipping is one of the ‘hard to decarbonise’ global industries so we have spent the last few years independently testing our system to support our claims. We want to become a standard on newbuild vessels in the industry and to be the ‘new normal’ for sustainable shipping.

By working with the best partners to help shipping improve its efficiency standards, Silverstream wants to have a positive and progressive impact on the industry and in doing so, the wider world.

Our trade advisor from the Department for International Trade has been instrumental in our recent success with this deal, as they know precisely the type of information that a business needs to tap into these key markets and reach these big companies.

The business has been operating at full capacity in line with Government guidelines throughout the Coronavirus pandemic and is finalising deals to supply an additional 15 ships in Europe and Asia by the end of the year. Supported throughout by DIT, this is expected to double Silverstream’s overall turnover with the increased number of installations consequently reducing tonnes of fuel burn and carbon emissions every year.

Minister for Exports, Graham Stuart, said:

Silverstream Technologies is a perfect example of how maritime businesses can reduce carbon emissions through technological innovation.

The UK is a global leader in green transport solutions and the perfect place for companies like Silverstream to go global and contribute to our net zero 2050 ambition.

With the shipping industry facing a target to become carbon neutral by 2050, the maritime sector represents one of the UK’s most important industries, facilitating 95% of all UK trade and more than one million jobs, according to Maritime UK.

Chair of Maritime UK, Harry Theochari, added:

Silverstream Technologies shows that innovative solutions are being found to help the maritime sector reach its net zero carbon emissions challenge – and then be exported around the world.

With 90% of all global trade moving by ship, the market opportunity is vast. By developing cutting-edge green technologies, our businesses are delivering sustainable solutions and real economic and societal benefits.

The UK maritime sector has committed to Net Zero by 2050 and it is vital that green, balanced growth, is placed at the heart of our recovery from Coronavirus.

In 2019, more than half of UK exports to the US were in services, with the total trade services almost doubling in the last decade to £125.3 billion.

The UK is currently negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the US, which Government analysis shows could increase transatlantic trade flows by £15.3 billion, with businesses across the entire country set to benefit.

• Export Champion creates new line of face coverings as part of coronavirus (COVID-19) response

• Company donates £1 for each face covering bought to local NHS trust

A Department for International Trade (DIT) ‘Export Champion’ is leading the way in supplying face coverings to its local area and beyond, in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Source Control Masks is the trading name of Mansfield-based industrial supplies business Hall-Fast. The business normally exports to over 100 countries including Nigeria and Poland. However, in light of the outbreak, it has refocused efforts to support and increase UK supplies of face coverings for the British public.

The Department for Health and Social Care published guidance on 11 May 2020 to advise the public to consider wearing face coverings in enclosed public spaces such as shops, trains and buses to help reduce the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

With the assistance of DIT advisers, the business is working to secure thousands of face coverings from Asia. The company has sold over 8,000 so far and has said its aim is to keep the UK public safe whilst ensuring medical PPE is reserved for healthcare workers.

The business is donating £1 for every face covering sold online to the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, their local NHS trust, and has raised £2160 so far.

Hall-Fast previously donated excess PPE stock to the value of £2,000 to their local NHS back in March as lockdown restrictions began.

The company has a long-standing relationship with DIT, becoming an ‘Export Champion’ when DIT first set up a base in the East Midlands.

Managing Director of Hall-Fast, Malcom Hall MBE:

After the lockdown was imposed in March, I began importing face coverings for purchase. I did this so as to encourage customers not to buy the medical facemasks that ought to be reserved for healthcare workers.

It’s important that we support our NHS by ensuring they have the equipment they need while protecting each other and ourselves.

DIT have been a great help to Hall-Fast and we have a long-standing relationship with the department as it existed in its previous forms. I have received continued support from International Trade Advisors both before and during the pandemic and have benefitted from the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

With no current cure to COVID-19, I want to help keep British people safe and provide the right type of equipment for people as lockdown restrictions ease.

Minister for Exports, Graham Stuart MP:

Hall-Fast is a great example of a UK business taking the initiative during this pandemic as well as supporting their local NHS and the British public.

It’s imperative we continue to keep international trade lines open and running, as working together is the only way we will be able to move past the pandemic.

Importing PPE is an important part of the UK’s response to COVID-19, and my department is doing all it can to support this.

I commend Hall-Fast for their innovative approach and ability to adapt to need. In doing so they support us all, not least the local community in Mansfield.

• new figures highlight how UK Government support is protecting jobs and helping individuals across all four nations of UK
• statistics for Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme show uptake of support schemes across the UK
• new figures also reveal size and sector of businesses furloughing their staff

The new figures show the uptake of Coronavirus Jobs Retention (CJRS) and Self-Employment Income Support Schemes (SEISS) across the UK’s regions and nations.

Under the CJRS, up until the 31 May more than 6.4 million jobs were furloughed in England, with more than 628,000 jobs furloughed in Scotland, 316,500 in Wales and nearly 212,000 in Northern Ireland.

Under the SEISS, self-employed individuals in Scotland have made 146,000 claims totalling £425 million; 102,000 claims for £273 million made in Wales; 69,000 claims for £198 million in Northern Ireland. From just over 2 million claims in England, the total is nearly £6 billion.

Across the whole of the UK, 70% of those potentially eligible for support through the self-employment scheme made a claim, with the average value of claim amounting to £2,900.

Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:

Our unprecedented coronavirus support schemes are protecting millions of vital jobs and businesses across the whole of the United Kingdom – and will help ensure we recover from this outbreak as swiftly as possible.

We have extended both schemes so they will continue to provide measured support across the UK as we start to reopen the economy.

Nationally, employers in the wholesale and retail sectors have furloughed the highest number of employers, covering 1.6 million jobs, followed by accommodation and food service employers furloughing 1.4 million.

The CJRS scheme will continue to support jobs until the end of October, with flexible part-time furloughing beginning in July to support businesses as the economy is carefully reopened.

The SEISS scheme has also been extended with those eligible able to claim a second and final grant in August.

The two schemes are part of a comprehensive economic support package for individuals and businesses including loans, grants, income tax deferrals, rental support, increased levels of Universal Credit, and mortgage holidays.

Further information

1. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme Official statistics will be updated every month and can be found here.

2. More information about the CJRS can be found here.

3. More information about the SEISS can be found here.

4. Data provided in this news release is to midnight on 31 May 2020. New information was published on 9 June 2020 showing the total number of claims by scheme and value of claims made by midnight on 7 June 2020.