Chancellor Rishi Sunak has admitted there will be shortages this Christmas ahead of his conference speech in Manchester later - and said he can't "wave a magic wand" to make the global supply chain issues disappear.
Mr Sunak will address the Conservative Party conference later on Monday, when he will commit more than £500m in fresh funding to help people back into work.
The Government is seeking to stem the continuing turbulence of the pandemic on the jobs market - with Mr Sunak set to shift the focus on to getting people into new or better jobs. It comes as the Tories come under sustained pressure over a .
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Mr Sunak will use his speech at the conference to set out his vision of shaping the economy around “the forces of science, technology and imagination”.
Ahead of the speech, Mr Sunak spoke to BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning where he conceded there will be shortages this Christmas, but insisted the Government is trying to “mitigate” the problem.
He said “We’re seeing supply disruption, not just here but in lots of different places, and there are things we can try and mitigate, and we are.
“But we can’t wave a magic wand. There’s nothing I can do about the decision by a country in Asia to shut down a port because of a coronavirus outbreak.
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“But be assured we are doing everything that is in our control to try and mitigate some of these challenges.”
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He also said he cannot “wave a magic wand” to make global supply chain issues disappear as Britain faces shortages.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s reasonable that people expect us to do what we can.
“But we can’t wave a magic wand and make global supply chain challenges disappear overnight.
“With regards to butchers, my understanding is that those are indeed on the shortage occupation list that we already have.”
At his speech on Monday, the Chancellor will pledge to “make the United Kingdom the most exciting place on the planet” through enhanced infrastructure, improved skills and scientific investment.
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He will announce the new funding will be used to help workers leaving the furlough scheme and unemployed over-50s back into work, while the “kickstart” scheme for young people will also be extended.
But he has resisted expanding all of the support announced during the pandemic, with the furlough scheme ending and the £20-a-week uplift to Universal Credit falling away.