‘WE NEED TO SURVIVE AND THEN THRIVE’
LOCAL BUSINESS LEADERS TALK ABOUT WHAT’S REQUIRED FROM RISHI SUNAK’S SPRING BUDGET:
THE Chancellor is set to announce his spring Budget tomorrow – the first since before the coronavirus pandemic. Rishi Sunak is expected to address business support, furlough and tax and stamp duty when he stands up to deliver his speech - along with a range of measures to support the retail, transport, property and manufacturing sectors.
Here Laura Watson talks to business leaders from across Stoke-on-trent and Staffordshire about what they would like to see in this year’s budget.
ON BUSINESS SUPPORT...
BUSINESS leaders are calling on the Government to support British businesses and address issues around investment, funding and job creation.
Sara Williams, chief executive of Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce,said: “Staffordshire businesses urgently need a comprehensive plan to help them with business cash flow and support to protect jobs and livelihoods. We hope to see the Government introduce a broader range of measures to rebuild the UK economy, including boosting business investment, replacing EU funding, supporting young people in the labour market and addressing long-standing challenges facing the UK economy, such as Business Rates reform.”
Alun Rogers, chairman of Stoke-on-trent and Staffordshire LEP, said: “It’s vital that the Government invests in supporting the businesses that will help our society and economy to survive, recover and prosper throughout the coming months.
“Supporting jobs and investing in the development of skills in growth areas will be key for our region. This will enable existing businesses to innovate, future-proof and grow, as well as catalysing the creation of exciting new start-ups across the area.
“Infrastructure remains vital to the LEP and our partners. We must be able to continue to deliver major projects to help to develop the city as a more attractive place to live, work and invest as we navigate our way through recovery from the pandemic and take the lead in terms of the levelling-up agenda. We also need to support our hardhit businesses across the leisure, hospitality, retail and cultural sectors. Post-pandemic, these sectors are likely to experience demand like never before and so we need to provide them with the right resource and opportunity – not only to come through this and survive, but indeed to thrive for the long-term.”
ON RETAIL...
RETAIL experts have a number of items on their ‘wish list’ ahead of tomorrow’s budget.
Stoke-on-trent City Centre BID chairman, Jonathan Bellamy, said: “There are a number of aspects we’d love to see in the budget, particularly to support businesses as they push out of the pandemic.
“This includes a specific commitment to empowering projects that are ready to deliver on the north-south levelling up agenda, investment into the multiple benefits that quality transport and city centre access improvement projects can bring, grants for businesses who embrace further environmental or digital technology options and a continuation of the Kickstart Scheme to invest into our young people’s employment opportunities.”
Retail expert Ian Kelsall, who is the customer experience director for
Staffordshire at Insight6, said: “Retailers will fall into two distinct camps, those looking to get more tax breaks and those looking to avoid more taxation.
“Online retailers may have seen their sales boom in recent months, but they will be looking over their shoulder at the Chancellor’s plans for any potential online sales tax that they might be subjected to in the medium to long term.
“Businesses that typically rely on customers physically returning to their premises will be hoping for some form of continuation of the business rates support they have received, whilst they figure out ways to tempt their customers back into the open.
“A removal of these support schemes too quickly is likely to lead to businesses surviving the downturn, only to fail during the recovery, resulting in more empty shopping units and redundancies being made. In addition, they will be looking to the Chancellor to provide other initiatives, such as a short term VAT reduction as an example, to give consumers confidence to get back out into town centres, shopping villages and retail parks.”
ON MANUFACTURING...
CERAMIC industry trade association the British Ceramic Confederation is calling for the Government to back UK manufacturers.
The Stoke-based organisation, which represents more than 90 per cent of the UK ceramic industry’s manufacturing capacity, wants the Government to ‘use every opportunity to buy British’ and to promote UK manufactured goods internationally.
Technical director Dr Andrew Mcdermott said: “The budget comes at a critical time, with the sector facing the triple challenge of recovering from Covid-19, adapting to new trading arrangements with the EU and transitioning towards net-zero emissions while being internationally competitive.
“Covid-19 and the ensuing economic shock has had a sudden and dramatic impact on ceramic businesses and supply chains, and exports have understandably taken a hit.
“We call on the Government to use every opportunity to buy British, re-launch the Great Britain and Northern Ireland international promotion campaign to generate jobs and growth, and encourage the use of UK manufactured goods.”
ON PROPERTY...
IT HAS been widely reported that Rishi Sunak will extend the stamp duty holiday beyond March 31 until the end of June to help boost the housing market.
Dean Reeves, managing director of Oneagency Estate Agents at Festival Park, said: “This would be fantastic news for buyers who are already in the process of purchasing but are struggling to meet the deadline to complete, it should also prevent some deals from falling through given that the current average time for transactions are taking much longer than usual.
“However, given the length of time that most transactions are currently taking, it’s unlikely to entice new buyers into the market as it could be optimistic for buyers involved in chains to find a property and complete within three months.
“The ideal scenario would be for a holiday period for the whole of the year, to encourage buyers who may be nervous to commit in these uncertain times, with a further review next year.”
Ramona Hirschi, managing director of Belvoir Stoke, said: “I hope to see a sensible solution to the stamp duty issue, such as allowing all transactions that are currently ‘sold subject to contract’ to complete with the benefit of the holiday even beyond March 31. That would reduce aborted transactions or fall-throughs for estate agents, solicitors, mortgage brokers and other suppliers.
“Without this, there would be a massive loss of productivity and revenue across sectors. I would also like to see continued support to keep people in employment as that would keep the property market moving by enabling people to rent or buy houses. What we do not want is a repeat of the crash of the housing market during the 2008 credit crunch and ensuing recession. It’s vital to keep the housing market moving. So far the government’s various support packages to business and workers have been working to keep the housing market strong. We need to see more of that in the Budget.”
ON TRANSPORT...
TRANSPORT chiefs in the Midlands are asking the Chancellor to provide £400m to support a raft of proposed measures across the region.
This includes £5.3m to draw up plans for future schemes to help cut congestion on roads including the A50/A500 corridor.
Daniel Jellyman, Stoke-on-trent City Council’s cabinet member for regeneration, infrastructure and heritage, said: “These infrastructure investments will give businesses and residents the connectivity they need to move supplies, do business and access their places of work. Postpandemic, we must support trade, making improvements to key logistics corridors such as the A50/500. It is clear that these main arterial routes in the city are really important to local people.”
Jonathan Gullis, MP for Stoke-ontrent North said: “A better service from Stoke-on-trent to Derby will bring two great manufacturing cities together and improving the A50/A500 will further allow us to boost trade, post-brexit. Stoke-ontrent deserves better infrastructure and I am working, together with Midlands Connect, to make sure we get the funding we deserve. I want to see these schemes delivered alongside my ongoing campaigns to upgrade Longport Railway Station and delivering the Stoke-leek line via the Restoring your Railways Fund.”
Retailers will fall into two distinct camps, those looking to get more tax breaks and those looking to avoid more taxation. Online retailers may have seen their sales boom in recent months, but they will be looking over their shoulder at the Chancellor’s plans ...
Ian Kelsall, customer experience director for Staffordshire at Insight6