The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak will deliver his Spring Statement on 23rd March. Whilst he will be guarded against committing to extra spending, I hope he sees the need to take some action to limit the damage of the increasing cost of doing business on firms and consumers.
Following the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Chambers believe the Chancellor must act now to protect the UK from a renewed economic crisis, taking decisive action in his statement to mitigate the spiralling costs of simply doing business.
Businesses are reporting a crippling burden from cost pressures which include rising raw material costs, soaring energy bills and other overheads.
The British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) latest economic forecast projects that the war in Ukraine has increased the risk of a recession in the UK by exacerbating the already acute inflationary squeeze on consumers and businesses and derailing the supply of commodities to key sectors of the economy. Raising taxes at this time would weaken the UK’s growth prospects further, by undermining confidence and diminishing households’ and firms’ finances.
With a week to go, the BCC is calling on the government to use the Spring Statement to enact the their Five Point Plan to Tackle the Cost of Doing Business Crisis:
- Delay the impending National Insurance rise by one year.
- Temporary energy price cap for small businesses.
- Additional financial support, through the expansion of the energy bills rebate scheme for households to include small firms and energy intensive businesses; a new support fund, administered by Ofgem to support the smallest firms with their soaring energy bills; and a six-month extension to the Recovery Loan Scheme, leaving it in place until the end of 2022.
- A moratorium, for the life of this Parliament, on all policy measures that increase business costs, but excluding only evidence-based changes to the National Living Wage.
- A commitment from the government’s Supply Chain Advisory Group and Industry Taskforce to continue to work with industry to deliver urgent practical solutions to ease the supply chain disruption and labour shortages that continue to drive the upward pressure on prices.
The BCC is also calling on energy firms to work more closely with government, business, and other key stakeholders to provide more substantial support to help businesses and households to navigate this difficult period.
Implementing this five-point plan would help shield firms from the worst of the costs’ crisis – giving them headroom to keep a lid on prices, protect jobs and make investment that is so vital to sustaining our economic prospects.
If you want to talk to us about any business issues, including funding, you can call our switchboard on 01782 202222 or call the Stoke and Staffs Growth Hub Helpline on 0300 111 8002 or email: info@staffordshirechambers.co.uk
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