Sheffield Council leader slams Government for being out of touch with self-employed people

The Leader of Sheffield Council says the Government has no idea about the struggles of working people.
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Coun Julie Dore criticised Ministers for being out of touch with real people but Conservative MP Miriam Cates said while it was impossible to save every job, the Government was doing everything possible to rebuild and rebalance the economy.

Coun Dore said although there were business grants, many people were not eligible.

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“We are frantically working on business support packages and we know how many people have fallen through the net such as sole traders, freelancers and even people who rent a business property.

Julie DoreJulie Dore
Julie Dore

“The Government doesn’t understand how people live their lives. They have never been to the pub with someone who works three different jobs, they don’t have a mate who is a window cleaner. They don’t think through how it affects people.

“We want to support all businesses through a lockdown, whether it’s a taxi driver or mobile hairdresser, but the Government needs to do more.”

Ms Cates, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, said the Government had provided grants to self-employed people, including freelancers and sole traders, and recently extended the scheme in light of the new national restrictions.

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She said: “The UK is a diverse economy, with thousands of different industries and millions of businesses and there is no one size fits all approach to supporting jobs and livelihoods.

“Anyone who receives most of their income from self-employment, has average profits of below £50,000 and completed their tax return in time has been eligible, and in my constituency alone 3,400 people had claimed these grants by the summer.

“For employed people, including those who have zero hours contracts or work several jobs, incomes have been supported through furlough and again this support has been extended.

“Whilst we will do everything we can to support the economy, it is clearly not possible to save every job and that’s why the safety net has been strengthened with a Universal Credit uplift, help with housing, mortgage holidays and grants to local authorities such as Sheffield Council to support the most vulnerable.”

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