FIGURES highlighting government support in Furness have been hailed by the district's MP.

New government statistics show that 9,900 Furness jobs have been protected through the furlough scheme.

Support has also been provided through a number of grant schemes administered through the borough council.

£5m in support money has been afforded to self-employed workers and £23.5m in 'bounce back loans' have been allotted to small companies and £18m in business grants paid out.

Barrow MP, Simon Fell, said: “This year has been hugely challenging for people and businesses right across Furness, and these latest figures demonstrate the scale of support that the Conservative Government has put in place to support lives and local livelihoods.

“As we now work to restart our economy, I have no doubt that the Government will continue to support people in our local community. Schemes such as the hugely popular Eat Out to Help Out are already proving a huge success at getting customers back into local businesses.

“Never has the Conservatives’ agenda to level up the whole county been so important – giving businesses the confidence to retain and hire, create jobs and ensure young people have the opportunity of a better start in Furness.”.