Sunak should have gone further, says chamber boss
Lochaber Chamber of Commerce boss Frazer Coupland says the Westminster and Holyrood governments need to go further in tackling inflation and rising costs, writes Mark Entwistle.
The comments from the chamber's CEO Mr Coupland came in the wake of last week's spring statement by Chancellor Rishi Sunak MP.
Mr Sunak has been accused of not doing enough to help the poorest as food and energy costs continue to spiral at their fastest rate for 30 years.
Mr Sunak announced a 5p cut from fuel duty and changes to April's National Insurance rise by increasing the point at which workers have to start paying it.
But with inflation predicted to hit more than eight per cent by end of the year and UK living standards expected to plunge quicker than at any time since the 1950s, Mr Sunak has been slammed for not doing more.
Mr Coupland told the Lochaber Times: ‘With the increasing energy costs, many businesses had hoped for an energy price cap, particularly for micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses to expand and grow and recover from the impact of the Covid -19 pandemic.
‘Whilst there were various measures for businesses to welcome in the spring statement, including the 5p cut to fuel duty and the increase in the National Insurance threshold, the chancellor should have gone further to help Scotland's businesses recover.
‘With inflation running at a 30-year-high, businesses wanted to see the chancellor take real action to tackle the escalating cost of doing business.
‘The economic environment facing Scotland's businesses remains challenging and it's essential that government in Westminster and Holyrood do everything they can to tackle inflation and rising cost pressures to help drive a strong economic recovery.'
David Richardson, the Federation of Small Businesses' Highlands and Islands development manager, said while a number of the measures in the chancellor's statement will help smaller firms, his organisation's welcome for them is more muted than it would have liked.
‘For while they will undoubtedly buy Scotland's small businesses a little breathing space, much more could have been done to help them absorb their rapidly rising energy costs,' he continued.
‘With fuel poverty in the Highlands and Islands perhaps the highest in the UK, everyone here is feeling the pinch, but it must be remembered that small businesses have none of the protections of households, nor the negotiating power of big businesses.
‘In short, while beneficial, an opportunity was missed to bring real help to the countless small businesses currently being overwhelmed by massive energy price hikes.
‘Action is still required on this front now, or we face witnessing some great businesses that struggled through the pandemic and survived, going to the wall just as things should have been getting better.'