More than 10,000 jobs saved in North East Derbyshire

A total of 10,300 people have been furloughed in the district, while a further 3,100 self-employed workers are benefitting from other support schemes introduced by the Government during the coronavirus pandemic.

Lee Rowley, MP for North East Derbyshire, welcomed the measures and said they were vital during the lockdown and as the recovery from the crisis begins.

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“These have been extraordinarily difficult times for our communities and the way that our area has pulled together has been fantastic,” Mr Rowley said.

“The Government has also provided vital support to businesses so that many of them can get going again once the virus starts to decline, as it is currently doing.

“We have to tread carefully in these challenging coming weeks but the first priority of Government has been to protect lives.

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“Through the furlough and the self-employment schemes, we have also tried to protect livelihoods where we have been able to do so too.”

Across England, the jobs of nine million people have been protected through furloughing and around two million self-employed people have received support.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “These measures have been on a scale unmatched by any government in recent history. All to give us the best chance of recovering quickly as the economy reopens.”

Labour leader Keir Starmer has also welcomed the furlough scheme but has called for more long-term solutions to be found to looming job cuts in many industries.

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