Shropshire companies give Budget the thumbs-down
Businesses across Shropshire have given today’s Budget a broad thumbs-down.
A wide range of firms said there was little in Rachel Reeves’ long-awaited and much-leaked speech to give the business community the confidence it needed to thrive in the coming year.
Telford-based civil engineering and construction contractor McPhillips, which directly employs 240 people and has delivered more than 140 projects worth £300million in the last five years, said today’s budget “fell short of the mark”.
Director Stuart MacKenzie warned that confidence across the sector had been knocked by speculation ahead of the announcement.
“Unfortunately, today’s announcements have not gone far enough to restore the stability we needed.
“The construction industry is impacted by almost every part of the economy so any measures which cause taxes to rise takes money out of the economy, puts pressure on businesses and will continue to stall growth.”
He warned that tax changes would create significant challenges: “Changes to salary sacrifice and minimum wage rises on top of the already hefty National Insurance hike will cause a mammoth administrative headache for businesses and will bring additional costs at a time when they want to be focused on investing in skills, sustainability and CSR initiatives.”
Neil Lloyd, chief executive of FBC Manby Bowdler which has offices in Shropshire, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Knowle and Worcestershire, said Rachel Reeves had damaged her credibility with a series of U-turns before today’s speech.
Neil, who is also chairman of the Training and Manufacturing Group, said: “The Chancellor found herself in a very tight corner – partly through her own doing – and today’s speech very much reflected that.
“Business confidence is very fragile at the moment – and the Chancellor’s U-turn over income tax spooked the markets even more and has certainly undermined her standing with business leaders.
“We know that businesses have been delaying investment and hiring decisions while they wait to see what the Chancellor had to say. I’m not sure that today’s speech will inspire the confidence we need to get the economy growing again.”
But Neil said there were some announcements to welcome in today’s speech.
“The decision to bring down energy bills for 7,000 key firms is certainly welcome and I was pleased to hear the action to make training for under-25 apprenticeships completely free for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and the £820million set aside to guarantee every young person a place in college, an apprenticeship or personalised job support.”
Amy Bould, managing director of Newport-based PR and marketing specialist Be Bold Media, said there was little positive in the Chancellor’s speech for business.
“The Government can’t even manage to announce its own Budget without it being leaked first – and they wonder why business confidence is shot to pieces.
“Yes, business rates relief is welcome but it’s overshadowed by yet another hammer blow to the cost of running a business, with inflation-busting wage cost increases. And in a couple of years they’re coming for our pension schemes too. You couldn’t make it up.
“Rachel Reeves spoke today about supporting working people but she’s making it systematically harder for the people who actually employ them.
“She’s also opened up a huge postcode lottery for businesses which want to drive growth. It was good to see a commitment to a number of ‘growth funds’ for mayoral areas such as the West Midlands, that’s great for businesses based there. But if you’re a business operating in Shropshire or Telford & Wrekin, where’s the investment for them.”
Pioneering engineering firm Transicon said the budget lacked tangible support for manufacturers in the wake of the Industrial Strategy.
Jennifer Hughes, general manager of the Telford-based firm which works with major manufacturers such as BMW, Tata Steel and Muller Dairy, welcomed support with energy costs and access to finance but warned the measures were not enough to restore confidence and growth across the sector.
She said: “The cumulative impact of increased National Insurance contributions, uplift in National Minimum Wage and Corporation Tax is already squeezing margins for many businesses and the additional tax rises announced today will take more money out of the economy and lump further pressure on businesses.
“We’re disappointed that there was no real recognition of the burden that industry is facing and the impact this is having on the sector’s ability to invest in skills, innovation, AI, cybersecurity and technology.
“With the launch of the Industrial Strategy earlier this year, we’d been hopeful that this budget might deliver more in terms of funding for manufacturers, particularly SMEs like ourselves.
“We were however pleased to see mention of funding for skills and welcome new measures on apprenticeships that will support us and other SMEs to train the next generation. The skills gap across the sector remains a persistent challenge.”
Graham Corfield, chief executive of Telford-based Aviramp, whose award-winning step-free boarding ramps are in use at more than 900 airports around the world, said the Chancellor had not taken the action needed to drive business growth.
“The only way to get our economy firing on all cylinders again is to give the business community the freedom to start creating wealth and the confidence to invest in the future.
“That means stripping away the red tape and bureaucracy which stifles innovation, creating the conditions where business can invest with confidence knowing we won’t be taxed just for being successful and investing in skills and training so we can really seize the digital future.
“Not surprisingly, I didn’t hear enough of any of these things in today’s speech which will do little to inspire businesses or kickstart the economy.”
