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Retail & Consumer

South West firms will face a hard winter, Exeter Chamber warns

The Chancellor's plan has been welcomed but does it go far enough to save a sector that the region relies on?

Emergency measures to boost the South West's vital hospitality and economy have been broadly welcomed but there are fears the raft of measures outlined by Chancellor Rishi Sunak do not go far enough.

Julie Hawker, Board Director of Exeter Chamber of Commerce, said that many businesses, including the night-time bars and clubs, effectively face a pause on income during the winter months.

She said: "While undoubtedly the new schemes will help in the immediate future, there is a concern they won’t go far enough to protect otherwise viable businesses and their employees.

“This, coupled with the end of the Brexit transition period, should be a key focus for Government to support the economy over the longer term.

“It continues to be vital for the Chamber, that all sectors in the Greater Exeter area are supported through the winter period ahead and will continue to lobby and provide support wherever we can."

While hospitality and its suppliers will be hardest hit, all business sectors will be affected, said Mrs Hawker.

She said: “The next six months will be critical for all business sectors with a very challenging combination of Covid related restrictions and Brexit. Indeed, latest stats from ONS show that the economy has shrunk by 11.7% compared to pre-lockdown and British Chambers of Commerce state that, due to Covid crisis, there’s been little time to plan for Brexit with just 38% of businesses saying they’ve done a risk assessment for change in trading conditions in January."

Support outlined in Sunak's Winter Economic Plan include a new Job Support Scheme, the cut in VAT for hospitality, the extension of self-employment income support and more flexible pay back terms on business loans.