Conservative conference: Rishi Sunak to extend job support schemes

The chancellor will commit £500m to renew job support programmes during his speech at the Conservative Party conference on Monday.

Rishi Sunak will promise to "double down" on help for the jobs market after Covid, as he extends several schemes set up during the pandemic.

He will also promise to reshape the economy around technology and scientific innovation.

The speech comes amid pressure on the government over living standards.

Rising food and energy prices, alongside cuts to universal credit benefits, have sparked warnings of a squeeze on incomes this autumn.

The military is also due to begin driving fuel to petrol stations on Monday, amid continuing supply chain issues affecting several sectors.

Ahead of his first in-person conference address to Tory members as chancellor, Mr Sunak praised the UK's economic recovery but warned the "job is not done yet".

"At the start of this crisis I made a promise to do whatever it takes, and I'm ready to double down on that promise now as we come out of this crisis," he said.

He will also promise to make the UK the "the most exciting place on the planet" through better infrastructure and improved skills.

His speech will come on the second day of conference, known as Business Day, when the party seeks to showcase its commercial credentials and boost ties with industry.

However, this year's event comes amid a backdrop of supply chain problems and a continuing stand-off between ministers and the haulage sector over foreign drivers.

The industry has called for additional temporary visas to plug an estimated 100,000 shortfall in HGV drivers due to Covid, Brexit and other factors.

But although ministers say they will grant 5,000 temporary visas, they have so far resisted calls to increase this, saying that immigration has previously pushed down pay and conditions.

On Sunday, Boris Johnson said the UK was in a necessary "period of adjustment" following Brexit, adding that immigration from the EU had reduced business investment in staff and equipment.

And asked by Andrew Marr if he would raise taxes again, Mr Johnson refused to rule it out, saying: "If I can possibly avoid it, I do not want to raise taxes again."

In his conference speech, Mr Sunak will say the Kickstart Scheme - which subsidises eligible jobs for young people on universal credit - will be extended by three months to March 2022.

The scheme, launched in September last year, was allocated £2bn in funding to create 250,000 jobs by the end of 2021.

However, only 76,900 have actually started Kickstart roles, according to latest figures, with 196,300 roles in total made available for youngsters to apply for.

The Federation of Small Businesses had been calling for the scheme to be extended, amid reports that firms had encountered delays and found the scheme slow.

Mr Sunak will also announce the extension of the JETS scheme to help long-term unemployed people on universal credit until September 2022.

A separate scheme paying employers £3,000 per apprentice they take on will also be prolonged by four months until the end of January.

And the government is promising more help finding work for those coming off the furlough scheme, which closed last week, having paid the wages of 11.6 million workers during the pandemic.

The various extensions will be paid for with £500m of funding, with the Treasury saying that details will be confirmed at the Spending Review on 27 October.

Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the government's plan to support jobs was "struggling" and had "failed to hit its original targets".

"An extended deadline will do nothing to compensate for the chancellor's tax rises, cost of living crisis and cuts to universal credit," he added.