Scotland 'almost certain' to need furlough scheme beyond October, says Sturgeon
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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said today that it is "almost certain" Scotland will need the furlough scheme extended beyond October by the UK Government.
Her call comes after unemployment rose in Scotland by 30,000 between February and April to a total of 127,000.
On Friday the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that workers would continue receiving 80% of their current salary until the end of October.
But at today's Scottish Government briefing the First Minister argued that, in all probability, the furlough scheme would be needed to for longer.
She said: "I know that these kinds of statistics, and generally increasing economic anxiety, lead some to argue for a quicker than planned exit from lockdown, and I absolutely understand that.
"But we must guard against a reckless relaxation of lockdown measures because if we lift these restrictions too quickly and allow this virus to run out of control again that would not only be economically counter-productive but it would also cost many more lives.
"The key point is this – the more we can suppress this virus now the more normality we can restore as we open up the economy and society, and also the more able we will then be to cope with any resurgence of the virus.
"We have welcomed assistance from the UK government such as the job retention scheme, but it is essential that this scheme is extended if that proves necessary – which I think is almost certain – and we are making that case to the UK government."
Ms Sturgeon also announced that free school meals will continue over the summer.
Five further deaths from Covid-19 across Scotland have been registered in the past 24 hours, bringing the official total number of deaths from the virus in hospitals across Scotland to 2453.
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