Rishi Sunak talks business during visit to Great Ayton
Chancellor Rishi Sunak dropped by Stokesley and Great Ayton on Friday to speak to local business owners.
Staff at Chapters Deli in Stokesley and the Royal Oak in Great Ayton chatted with the MP about his furlough and Eat Out to Help Out schemes during the tour.
Both schemes were announced by Mr Sunak – who is MP for both areas as part of his Richmond constituency – as a government boost for the hospitality sector during the coronavirus pandemic.
Simon Fletcher, co-owner of the Royal Oak said they wrote to Mr Sunak to thank him for the schemes which had helped them retain all of their 25 staff members.
“We had thanked him for the assistance and invited him for lunch,” said Mr Fletcher.
“He contacted us and said he could pop in for ten minutes on his visit.
“He asked us which part of the schemes we used, how many staff we had furloughed and when we reopened.”