Nicola Sturgeon demands 'clarity' after Robert Jenrick appears to backtrack on furlough scheme assurances

Her announcement comes as Secretary of State for housing Robert Janrick told Sky News this morning that the financial scheme for the UK, including Scotland, will be a decision for the Chancellor from 2 December, when England is due to come out of lockdown.

The conservative MP said: “Everybody in the UK can be assured that furlough, at 80 per cent, will be available until the 2 December.

"We will continue to ensure the UK furlough scheme is UK-wide, it was always UK-wide from the start, and we want it to be in the future, so if it’s necessary to be deployed again, that is a decision for the Chancellor in the futur.”

But his comments appear to contradict Boris Johnson's answer when he yesterday confirmed that furlough money would be available for Scotland, and applies "not just now, but of course, in the future as well."

When asked what would happen if Scotland required furlough support beyond December 2 Mr Jenrick repeated the decision will be down to the Chancellor from that point onward.

Nicola Sturgeon has today demanded “clarity” from the UK Government about whether or not Scotland will receive full furlough support if the country was to go into another lockdown.

In a statement on Twitter the First Minister said: “We need clarity on this urgently today. I’m sorry to say that the Scottish Government has no more detail now than we did before PM statement yesterday. Woolly words don’t pay people’s wages.”

Robert Jenrick

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