Furlough scheme judged a 'success' as Blackpool among the areas depending on it the most

And Blackpool ranks among the areas that have the most workers on furlough, the authors say.

Areas with the highest number of workers on furlough, receiving an average of £576 a week, include parts of London, Blackpool South, Crawley, Walsall and Glasgow East, said the report.

Parts of the country with the lowest take-up include Cambridge, Wimbledon, Twickenham and Sutton Coldfield, according to the study.

The retail and leisure sectors, including including pubs, have been hardest-hit by Covid-19 and most in need of the furlough, said the report.

Other areas with the highest use of the scheme include Ealing, Southall and Feltham & Heston – close to Heathrow Airport where many thousands of workers have been furloughed by airlines and the airport itself.

Sue Lucas, a partner at Moore, said: “The furlough scheme looks like it is doing a good job in allocating assistance to many of the financially weakest parts of the country.

“While there is much work left to do for both businesses and the Government in bringing employees back from furlough and avoiding redundancies, as a ‘first aid’ measure, the scheme can be judged a success so far.”