British Lobbies Welcome New Government Support
Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled his spring budget on Wednesday offering a fresh support package for business, although many would argue there is still much more to be done.
LONDON — British fashion, beauty and retail industry bodies have welcomed news of further government support for business to help them through the final months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his spring budget statement on Wednesday, Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak extended the government’s generous furlough program and its help for the self-employed until the end of September. He also raised minimum wage to 8.91 pounds an hour, put a freeze on business taxes and offered 5 billion pounds in special “restart” grants for the retail sector.
Sunak said the British economy is poised to rebound this year, with annual growth of 4 percent and a return to pre-COVID-19 growth levels by mid-2022.
Caroline Rush, chief executive officer of the British Fashion Council, said the BFC
“welcomes the announcements in today’s budget that will enable businesses and workers to recover from the effects of the pandemic,” adding that the organization “encourages responsible retail,” and will ensure “that the benefits of this support are passed on through the value chains to suppliers, designers and workers within them.”
The BFC said a report by Oxford Economics has shown the impact of COVID-19 could be twice as hard on the fashion industry than the economy as