CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak has announced new measures to prevent millions of job losses in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.

As the furlough scheme comes to an end in October, Mr Sunak said he has been working to help ‘strike the balance between managing the virus and protecting the jobs and livelihoods of millions’.

Speaking to MPs, he announced a new job support scheme would see the Government 'directly support' the wages of people in viable jobs working at least a third of their normal hours.

The Government will increase a person's wage to cover two thirds of the pay they have lost by reducing their working hours.

The scheme is open to 'firms who need it most', even if they did not make use of furlough, and larger business can only apply if their turnover has fallen because of the crisis.

It will run for six months, starting in November.

Explaining the new scheme, Mr Sunak told the Commons: "The furlough was the right policy at the time we introduced it, it provided immediate short-term protection for millions of jobs through a period of acute crisis.

"But as the economy re-opens it is fundamentally wrong to hold people in jobs that only exist inside the furlough."

Mr Sunak said the Government will provide similar support for the self-employed.

He told the Commons: “I am extending the existing self-employed grant on similar terms and conditions as the new Jobs Support Scheme.”

Alongside the plans to help save jobs, Mr Sunak has announced a 'pay as you grow' scheme to allow firms to repay bounce back loans over a period of up to 10 years.

VAT will also be kept at five per cent for hospitality and tourism until March 31, 2021.

This afternoon, Labour’s Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols asked the Chancellor about the provision of additional financial support for areas, like Warrington, that are under local lockdown.

Ms Nichols says she welcomes many of the measures announced by Mr Sunak but is concerned ‘at the lack of measures’ announced so far to give additional support to areas facing extra restrictions or local lockdowns like Warrington.

She added: “Our public sector and council will be put under extra strain, our businesses will face increased difficulty and our charities and community groups will be stretched more so than areas of the country where this more general support will be enough.

“In Warrington North, we have over 14,000 people on furlough, almost 3,000 people in receipt of self-employed income support claims and many more who have not been eligible for any support up until this point.

“The ONS estimate 6,300 jobs in Warrington North are at risk, and many of these are viable jobs and businesses were it not for the restrictions required by the Government to curb the spread of the virus.

“Sunak and Johnson can talk about ‘levelling up’, but unless this is addressed, this agenda is dead in the water before it's even begun.”

Conservative Warrington South MP Andy Carter has also issued a statement.

He said: "I welcome the Chancellor's statement today; there are some very creative policies and changes to current programmes which will give businesses and families in Warrington South much-needed support throughout the winter. 

"As well as the job support scheme which will contribute to people’s wages along with employers, I particularly welcome the Government's pay as you grow scheme. Over a million people claimed bounce back loans during the pandemic, with £125 million claimed across Warrington.

"With this scheme, business owners will now be given greater flexibility to repay, with people having the option to repay their bounce back loans over a longer period – up to ten years if needed, reducing monthly repayments by half.

"Having spoken to dozens of businesses across Warrington South over the past few months, this will give many the essential breathing space to restart their operations and retain staff."