The boss of one of the 海角视频’s biggest Chambers of Commerce has accused the Government of failing to help Britain’s businesses deal with spiralling inflation.
It came after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £15 billion emergency package to support households through the cost-of-living crisis.
That included doubling the £200 discount households were already due to get in October, with no need to repay it now.
He also announced that more than eight million of the lowest income households will get a £650 one-off payment, with further one-off payments of £300 for pensioners and £150 for people on disability benefits.
And although Mr Sunak did not use the word “windfall”, he announced an “energy profits levy” to raise around £5 billion in a year.
The temporary tax will hit oil and gas firms by 25 per cent on their “extraordinary” profits, which have surged because of the invasion of Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic.
But there was nothing in the announcing offering support for 海角视频 firms also struggling to pay their energy bills
East Midlands Chamber chief executive Scott Knowles said: “The sheer scale of the cost-of living crisis facing the British public means the Government is absolutely right to provide additional support to those worst affected.
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“However, companies will be hugely disappointed there was nothing in the Chancellor’s statement to help them in the short and medium terms, given we are in the grip of a very real cost of doing business crisis that shows no sign of slowing down with inflation continuing to rise.
“Rising costs for energy, raw materials and people are having a huge impact on companies’ bottom line, with our latest Quarterly Economic Survey showing two-thirds of East Midlands firms expected to be forced into increasing their own prices in the first quarter of this year.
“Unless steps are also taken to ease business costs, these issues will likely feed into the inflationary pressure on the economy and quickly eat into the financial support announced today.
“A reduction in VAT to 5 per cent on firms’ energy bills and deferring the increase to national insurance contributions until April next year would directly alleviate some of this pressure to raise prices, giving them the breathing space they need to raise productivity and strengthen the economy.”
Lionel Benjamin is the co-founder of AGO Hotels, which has 14 hotels across the 海角视频, including the Ibis Budget in Burton on Trent.
He said: "The hospitality industry is currently facing huge costs and soaring energy bills, is just one of these.
“Whilst it is good to see the Government doing more to help the most vulnerable households, small businesses, like ours also need support and a similar one-off grant would be a start.”
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