Sunak eyes wage top-up scheme
The Treasury is working on plans for a successor to the furlough scheme to fend off a wave of unemployment in the autumn.
The fresh restrictions announced by Boris Johnson on Tuesday which could last as long as six months were greeted with shock by sectors like hospitality still dependent on the £47bn scheme due to the lack of details on future support.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has warned of a disaster if the scheme comes to an abrupt halt at the end of October while Mr Johnson has said Chancellor Rishi Sunak will show imagination and creativity in protecting jobs.
But work in the Treasury is under way looking at the possibility of the state subsidising the wages of workers able to work 50-60pc of their normal hours, according to the Financial Times.
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