Bob Seely MP has asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, how the extension to the furlough scheme will help the Isle of Wight’s devastated visitor and festival economy.
The Chancellor announced in a parliamentary statement yesterday afternoon that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – where employers can claim a cash grant covering up to 80% of the wages for a furloughed employee up to a cap of £2,500 a month – would be extended until the end of October with some flexibility built in to allow furloughed employees to return to work part-time.
Bob said:
“The Isle of Wight is Britain’s Festival Island. We have a unique tourism sector supported by events in arts and music and sport.
“Can the Chancellor confirm that the furlough extension will help Islanders in this devasted part of the economy and will Ministers meet with me and others to discuss how we further protect the visitor and festival economy which relies on specific parts of the year, sometimes only weekends, to generate an entire annual livelihood?”
The Chancellor replied by thanking the Island for its part in testing the new app. He said:
“If I could start by saying to my honourable friend to convey the thanks I think of the whole house, but certainly of the government, for his constituents in the role that they are playing trialling the new app that will be important as we look to gain control of this virus in the second and third phase of our approach to tackling it so please pass on our thanks to all of his constituents.
“That sector that he mentioned is one that we know is struggling and we know will need support, and the document that was published yesterday by the Government talks about creating an industry task force – so I look forward to working with him and others as we can chart a future for those in the leisure and hospitality and tourism sectors.”
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Speaking afterwards Bob said:
“I am grateful that, yet again, a senior Government Minister has recognised the valuable role that Islanders are playing with the new app and the trace and test scheme. We are helping the Government to shape it before the national rollout.
“The extension to the furlough scheme the Chancellor has announced is good news for furloughed staff in industries unable to revive in the next few weeks.
“We now need MPs to work together as part of a task force to work out how we revive the tourism economy – including the festival economy on the Isle of Wight – and to look at whether realistically there is anything that can be done this year.”
Bob said he would contact other MPs and Ministers to talk about events, hospitality in general and festivals to see what can be done.
“We need to look at the wider picture to make sure the whole Island economy can restart to generate jobs and wealth again – which supports our public services – and when that can happen.”
We are one of the lowest area’s for covid 19 rate of infection , why the hell do we want everyone else to visit our island and bring more infection! Bob Seely you are totally irresponsible!!!
It’s the greasy pole dance MPs do.
Just GREEDY profit before people.
no, it is livelyhood before the dole. The vast majority of people will not suffer badly from this virus – those that might -can stay indoors – the rest need to get back to work and enjoying life.
Now I know that Bob Seely has lost his mind if he think that the island should open up to visitors
And you think he cares…that’s surprising.
No! a thousand times No! No visitors until four weeks after the last confirmed UK case and even then no one from abroad.
Can you tell me will charity shops open in june or then will thery open again
There you go again putting profit before people’s health ,,,,no no no.
I hope you read these comments Mr Seely. We do not want holiday makers coming to the island yet. Way too soon. Very irresponsible if you and Isle of Wight tourism actively encourage numbers to swarm here in the summer months. We acknowledge the tourist industry has taken a real hammering and it relies very much on visitors but if you push it too quickly we will get overwhelmed as will our hospital with more infections and God forbid, deaths. NO HOLIDAY MAKERS YET PLEASE.
And when would you like the holiday makers to come? Maybe not at all this year? I spend several months a year on the island in my own property, and I happen to drive a car with a German number plate. When I read these comments, I feel scared. I wasn`t planning on coming “until all the gates” are open again, but now I feel like selling and never coming back again!
Good bye.
annette – all those scaremongering idiots on here, clearly are not financially suffering from this whole process – ferry travel is not restricted – you can turn up if you wish to.
Money for his mates eh?
its a pity Bob Seely and the government were not as quick to get a grip on the covid-19 out break in the beginning ,as they seem to be about getting people back to work . I can understand the need to get the economy back on track, but using children as guinea pigs and putting the teachers,helpers, parents and the grand parents who often take and collect their grand children to and from school so their parents can work.now bob seely wants to flood the island with tourists putting us at further risk ,what planet is he on.the government put us in this position by their slow and weak action in the early days.
YET AGAIN MONEY OVER OUR LIVES!
Can’t these so called officials & MP’s that if visitors are encouraged or allowed onto OUR loverly Island that the ‘R’ figure would rocket.
They don’t or won’t see that the Island will still be here after this terrible virus has gone, that said will it be the same for us Islanders.
MY POINT IS THAT THE ISLANDS ECONOMY WILL RETURN BUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY WON’T RETURN,
you stay indoors if you are worried bert – the rest of us have lives to live, bills to pay and mouths to feed.
The Isle of Wight is NOT a festival island, since 1970 there was no festival again until 2002, and the island residents were not consulted or even offered any kind of decent discounts…… the festival should never had restarted and as of last year, not really any decent acts performing at all. Oh yes, since 2002, thank you Mr Giddings, the footpaths on the OPPOSITE side of the festival site are manned by security guards stopping people who go home from Newport to Cowes along that cycle path from walking or cycling home. I didn’t think you can close footpath, so unfair and completely mean.
Every year the festival has announced that more people can attend, but there is never any thought for infrastructure, residents who have to work and sleep at night, and as for the hospital, I don’t know how they cope with all the influx.
As for tourism Mr Seely, I think you should just give it up this year, don’t bother, unless you want the second peak of the virus to start HERE.
Let’s take a leaf out of the rich landowners book and put a sign here for Mr Seely and the Tourist Board.
“YOU ARE BEING WATCHED”
shut up mark – your boring.
I would strongly urge everyone to email Bob Seely personally and voice our concerns to him. No good us just complaining on this site. He/they can’t be allowed to get away with opening us up to possible infection. WE DON’T WANT HOLIDAY MAKERS COMING HERE BRINGING THE VIRUS WITH THEM. Island residents have helped the government and downloaded the NHS Tracing App, now they need to listen to our concerns and not just go all out with no regard for residents safety. EMAIL BOB SEELY NOW
Even if you email him, he just has an auto response system, so you probably will not get any meaningful reply. Does he have a telephone????
The office of Bob Seely in Cowes.
Here is his contact details:
https://www.bobseely.org.uk/contact
There is a phone number.
And dont forget if you do email him you must give your name and address or you will not get a reply from him, well not him as he wont reply he as his buddys reply for him. Thats true loyalty to his supporters but id say your just wasting your time.
quite happy to see tourists start arriving – normality returns sooner rather than later
OMG don’t let visitors flow into the Island when this is all over you will be welcome but at this time we are on a knife edge with this virus we have one HOSPITAL please don’t put more pressure on NHS workers think of us the Islanders
For once, I agree with Mr Dave Stewart (I.E. article 12 May 2020).
I am a staunch Tory and have agreed with everything that Boris and his team have initiated, however, there is absolutely no way, that we can look at holding events that generate crowds, such as the festival, jack up the 80’s, or others of that ilk, until:
1. We have a proven safe vaccine
and:
2. We are heading to level 2 on the rag rating.
Presumably our MP will be joining us on the Island to see how his various experiments with Islanders’ well-being play out?
Guess if all goes awry he’ll simply ferret out another safe seat.
The last thing this or any area needs this summer are large scale events which bring huge numbers from all over the country gathering in close proximity.
Start with the small businesses that are in danger of going under and who can, at least, implement safe distancing for their customers.
Mr Seely knows best isn’t a game to support. The stakes are too high.