Former PM Gordon Brown calls for 'joint local furlough schemes' for places which return to lockdown in Scotland

Former Labour Prime Minister has called on the UK and Scottish Government to work together to help support those whose jobs may be at risk due to Covid-19.

Gordon Brown has proposed a joint furlough scheme

A joint furlough scheme between the Scottish Government and the UK Government should be set up to provide security for those who live in areas which are hit by local lockdowns in the future, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said.

The former Labour leader, who was speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said neither government’s plans of either ending the scheme outright or extending it in a blanket form would solve the problem.

Mr Brown said Nicola Sturgeon and Boris Johnson have been operating as “ships in the night” and said there was no time for a “Punch and Judy show of Holyrood versus Westminster”.

The comments come after new statistics showed that more than 930,000 jobs in Scotland have been supported by UK government job retention schemes, with 779,500 people signing on the main furlough scheme in June.

Another 157,000 self-employed people have been supported by a similar scheme, with the total cost reaching £459 million.

Mr Brown called on the two governments to agree to an ‘alliance for full employment’ and to back a local furlough scheme.

Mr Brown and think tank Our Scottish Future, who are backing the plans, said such a scheme would stop the row between the governments over continued financial support, with the scheme calling for the governments to agree “no one who self isolates as a result of a local lockdown, and obeys the rules, should be in fear of losing their family income”.

It would also see the UK Government commit to funding a local furlough scheme for places facing lockdown, but would require the Scottish Government to commit to mass testing to stop outbreaks before they reach the stage of requiring a lockdown.

Such a scheme would see a guaranteed local lockdown support package during the initial lockdown period and a financial support guarantee, targeted at hourly and self-employed workers, to ensure that nobody is punished for obeying newly imposed lockdown rules.

Mr Brown said: “We should be under no illusions – the jobs crisis we are facing this autumn is unprecedented. This employment emergency cannot be dealt with by the Scottish government on its own or the UK government on its own. ‘Go it alone’ policies will prevent us saving jobs. That is why I am urging our devolved and UK-wide governments to negotiate such a plan for Scotland.

“We need and – as the polling suggests - the public want co-operation not conflict to help Scotland through the storm. So the first plan I would back is to agree new joint UK-Scottish Government local Furlough schemes for those specific areas which are required to go back into lockdown over the coming months.

"Neither the UK Government’s plan to end Furlough outright, nor the Scottish Government's demand to extend it in a blanket form are the best way to plan our future.

“The better way forward is for both governments to come together and offer local emergency support for those cities, towns and sectors that may need it - financial support from the UK so that no one who is quarantine is in fear of losing their family income and medical support from the Scottish government who, with only 4,000 tests a day, are testing far too few people to be able to anticipate local outbreaks.”

Mr Brown added that the two governments must work together to help recovering businesses and find jobs for the growing numbers of young people who have found themselves unemployed.

The former Prime Minister said: “The plan for full employment cannot be delivered by the Scottish Government or the UK Government alone.

“If we are to rescue the North Sea, provide equity or financial help for recovering businesses, or solve the problem of youth unemployment, we need coordinated action from both the Treasury and DWP and the Scottish Government.

“Dealing with youth employment, for example, needs the support of the UK-wide social security system and the collection of the UK-wide apprenticeship levy and the help provided by the Scottish education and training systems. That's why an Alliance for Full Employment is needed.”

"Leaders who pass each other like ships in the night - without ever talking to each other and often failing to acknowledging each other - are doing huge damage to our ability to deliver jobs.

“This is no time for the Punch and Judy show of Holyrood versus Westminster We need co-operation not conflict to help Scotland through the storm.”

At her daily Covid-19 briefing, Nicola Sturgeon repeated calls for the UK Government to extend its Job Retention Scheme after being asked whether the decision to delay a return to offices for the majority of workers would lead to more redundancies.

The First Minister said: “I worry about that if furlough is removed sooner than it should be and that is possibly in this area my most significant concern right now.

"Unfortunately that is not a decision I control, that’s why we are making the case so strongly to the UK Government that they should not prematurely drop furlough.

"Earlier this week the German government extended the equivalent scheme by up to two years so I think that is a significant concern right now.

"We are still in a global pandemic and every country will be experiencing the economic impact of that which is why it is really important that support for the economy whether that is furlough or other forms of support are not taken away.”

Responding to the number of Scots on furlough, Scottish secretary Alister Jack pointed to the financial aid for the country from Westminster.

He said: "Our pioneering furlough and self-employed schemes are part of an unprecedented package to help businesses and individuals across Scotland during the pandemic."

"On top of these vital initiatives, we loaned more than £2.3 billion to 65,000 Scottish businesses, deferred VAT bills, and increased support to individuals through Universal Credit. In addition, we have allocated to the Scottish Government an extra £6.5 billion of direct funding.

"We are focused on getting our economy back on track with innovative and targeted support.

"We have cut VAT to help restart tourism businesses, our Eat Out to Help Out scheme is boosting hospitality businesses, the new £1,000 job retention bonus will help companies retain staff, and our £2 billion Kickstart scheme to create thousands of high-quality jobs for young people.

"There are undoubtedly very real economic challenges ahead. But I am clear that the UK Government will continue to do everything possible to support people across the whole of the United Kingdom."

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