Businesses are being ‘hung out to dry’ by impasse
A LEADING business group has warned that firms are being “hung out to dry” because of the continued uncertainty over a nodeal Brexit.
The British Chambers of Commerce published a list of 20 “critical” questions it said remained unanswered for business if the UK leaves the EU on March 29 without a deal.
As part of the exercise the group warned that investment and growth had already been “stifled”, leading to loss of business as customers look elsewhere.
And it accused Government agencies of failing to give companies the information needed to prepare for Brexit day and beyond.
Adam Marshall, director general of the BCC, said: “In less than 50 days, UK firms could face the biggest change to their terms of trade in over a generation, without the information and clarity they need to navigate their forward course.
“There is a very real risk that a lack of clear, actionable information from Government will leave firms, their people and their communities hung out to dry.”
The warning has come as the Bank of England governor Mark Carney urged politicians to find a Brexit solution.
In a speech at Frobisher Hall in London, he said: “It is in the interests of everyone, arguably everywhere ... that a Brexit solution that works for all is found in the weeks ahead.”
Mr Carney told City figures yesterday that business investment in the UK had “fallen 3.7 per cent over the past year despite the ongoing expansion, high business profitability and accommodative financial conditions”.
Meanwhile, it emerged that inflation is expected to have hit the Bank of England’s target in January, thanks to the new cap on energy prices.
Fresh estimates are set to show that the Consumer Prices Index rate of inflation fell to two per cent last month, reaching the central bank’s goal.