Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has delivered his much-anticipated Autumn Statement, with an emphasis on stability, growth, and public services.
The tackling of inflation was key on the Chancellor’s agenda after it hit a 41-year high of 11.1%. Bringing down inflation will ultimately lead to stability and stability will lead to growth.
Sam Merrett, Policy Executive at Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, said:
“Today’s announcement from Jeremy Hunt will provide relief for businesses concerned about spiraling business rates, as he announced support worth £13.6bn over next five years. However, the rising energy bills businesses are facing was less so addressed by the Chancellor. In our latest Quarterly Economic Survey (QES), 82% of businesses stated energy costs as a concern. This highlights the increased pressure firms are under to pay their energy bills as we head towards the winter. A clearer energy support package for businesses is vital to help those firms that will struggle to pay their bills.
“As well as frightening energy bills, businesses will also face a tax increase, notably through the freezing of the national insurance threshold for employer contributions, which will raise £5.8bn by 2028.
“However, there was positive news for innovation and national infrastructure with confirmation that EU rules governing the insurance sector, Solvency II, would be rewritten to release “tens of billions of pounds” of capital to be spent on infrastructure.
“Despite the positives of support with business rates and commitment to green innovation, companies currently facing a ‘cost-of-doing business crisis’ require immediate support to help them through these unprecedented times. The Chancellor’s Statement doesn’t address current labour shortages and has nothing on boosting export-led growth. In our latest QES, 73% of businesses experienced recruitment difficulties, and therefore will be concerned that there is no plan to tackle the labour market issues businesses have been facing for some time.
“It is now vital that Jeremy Hunt uses this Autumn budget as a starting point to support business confidence through stability and growth.”