Ipswich Borough Council furloughs more than 200 staff in a bid to save money

Ipswich Borough Council has furloughed more than 200 staff in a bid to save more than £100,000 in the next three weeks.

Most of the furloughed staff work in the council's leisure and sport services, such as the Regent Theatre and the Ipswich Corn Exchange.

These venues have all been closed since lockdown measures were introduced in the UK at the end of March.

Council bosses say they've already redeployed almost 120 staff but that furloughing needed to take place to save £100,000 over the next three weeks.

The government’s furlough scheme pays 80 per cent of workers’ wages, and the council is making up the remaining 20 per cent so that employees shouldn't lose out on wages.

The furlough scheme was introduced by chancellor Rishi Sunak when the lockdown was brought in at the end of March.

Earlier this week, Mr Sunak said the full furlough scheme was unlikely to be extended beyond June because its cost was so high.

Russell Williams, Chief Executive at Ipswich Borough Council said: