Scarborough and Whitby MP says Budget must protect people
Robert Goodwill's been speaking, ahead of the Chancellor revealing his financial measures.
Last updated 3rd Mar 2021
Scarborough and Whitby's MP says it’s right for firms to be protected in the Budget.
It's as businesses in North Yorkshire have called for extended support, because of the pandemic and we now know furlough will be extended till the end of September.
Robert Goodwill agrees with that and also says we need to support tourism businesses when they re-open:
"We need to keep those companies ticking over, with the grant schemes and the furlough scheme, so that when things do pick up, which they will.
The Prime Minister's outlined a timetable for how that may well happen.
They will be there to hire people and it's our duty to go out and use these pubs when we can."
Former Transport Minister, Robert, also says he wants to hear more about planned dualling work on the A64.
Improvements to the area near the Hopgrove roundabout at York are in the pipeline, which he thinks is the key to reducing congestion.
Robert says the government will keep investing in infrastructure projects like that, especially in the North.
He said:
"The government understands that one that's good for the economy,in terms of keeping jobs flowing, keeping construction companies busy - but at the same time of course if people are in work, building these important infrastructure projects that's much better than paying them to be languishing on benefits."
There are questions as to what the Budget can do for what's being called a 'Lost Generation' - where those coming through the education system now are either lagging behind because of Coronavirus or don't have great job prospects as firms go out of business.
Robert Goodwill also used to be Education Minister.
He says there are various reasons why home-schooling might not work for everyone:
"That's presented problems, in terms of access to IT equipment and indeed talking to those further North from here working in the education sector, I know that there's some children who've been provided with laptops. But can they get them to log in at 9am to do their work? It's been very difficult."