Some 55% of pub and bar workers remained on furlough at the start of May, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal.
The data shows that the percentage of the workforce on furlough in pub and bar businesses is considerably higher than that of all other businesses.
At its peak in the November 2020 lockdown, 91% of pub and bar staff were on furlough. This number had decreased to 55% by 2 May 2021.
This compares with overall 8% to 15% of staff on furlough in all other businesses during the same period, indicating the heavier reliance of pubs and bars on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS).
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak told lawmakers Thursday that he is open to discussing increased oversight of commercial lending with the U.K.'s financial watchdog after the Greensill saga, marking a rethink that would tighten scrutiny over activities such as supply-chain financing.
She told him: “You had the enormous privilege of being the prime minister of our country, you’re one of just five people post-war to have been re-elected to lead our government. “Do you not feel that you have demeaned yourself and your position by WhatsApping your way around Whitehall based on a fraudulent enterprise, based on selling high risk debt to unsuspecting investors?”
She asked: “Did you know that 90 per cent of Greensill’s business represented unsecured loans to high-risk borrowers, and half the time without any invoice whatsoever?”
And referring to his involvement in the Earnd app used in the NHS to allow staff to receive payments up-front, she asked him: “Do you accept that your lobbying of the NHS wasn’t for its health but for the health of Greensill expand its balance sheet?”