New figures from the UK Government show that 600 furloughed employees were able to return to work across the Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale constituency during the month of June, in what has been hailed by MP David Mundell as good news for local families and the local economy.
Mr Mundell says it is welcome so many employees have returned to work as restrictions have eased, while in turn critical furlough support is still in place from the UK Government.
The latest statistics show that at the end of June, the UK Treasury were still protecting 1,900 jobs across the Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale constituency through the furlough scheme, down from 2,500 in the previous month, while a total of 13,200 have been protected since March 2020 in the constituency.
David Mundell said: “As restrictions continue to ease, it is very welcome to see more employees being able to return to work. The latest figures show that 600 more people in my constituency returned to their jobs over the month of June having been on furlough, and I hope that number will increase over the weeks and months ahead in what is good news for local families and the local economy.
“Ever since the pandemic began, the UK Government have stepped up to protect vital jobs and livelihoods through the furlough scheme and that will continue until the end of September.
“The crisis has shown the economic strength of the United Kingdom because, as well as the furlough scheme, the UK Government have also provided support for the self-employed and billions in business loans.
“It is now imperative that the Scottish Government ramps up the vaccination programme so that restrictions can be further eased as planned on 9 August, which will help more and more employees safely return to work locally in the coming weeks.”
