Member Article

Business leaders in Coventry and Warwickshire join urgent plea to Chancellor

Industry leaders in Coventry and Warwickshire have joined the urgent plea to the Chancellor to help ease the cost of doing business in the wake of a new survey. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has surveyed more than 1,000 firms on the back of the current economic climate and 73 per cent say they will be increasing their prices due to rising costs.

More than three in five (62 per cent) have cited soaring energy bills as a major factor while 63 per cent say its due to an increase in wage bills. Rising raw material costs and domestic taxes were also factors. In response to the new research, BCC director general Shevaun Haviland has written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak warning of the dangers facing firms and that call is being backed by the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.

The BCC has outlined a five-point plan which, if implemented, will help businesses to weather the current conditions and keep price rises under control.

These measures include a temporary energy price cap for small businesses, extending the Chancellor’s energy bills rebate scheme for households to smaller businesses and delaying the planned National Insurance rise by a year.

Sean Rose, head of policy at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Rising costs are having a major impact on businesses across the region and that is evidenced in this new survey from our colleagues at the British Chambers of Commerce.

“We are right behind the call from the BCC to the Chancellor to look at every option available to help reduce the cost of doing business for our members to help them overcome the barriers they are currently facing.

“With Covid-19 restrictions lifted, this should be a time for businesses to be focused solely on growing again but rising costs are making life difficult and that’s why we are calling for this support.”

BCC director general Shevaun Haviland said: “Without help from the Treasury to weather this storm many businesses, especially smaller ones, will be faced with a nearly impossible situation that will leave them with little choice but to raise prices.

“Our research has shown that businesses were drowning in rising costs even before the energy crisis began to bite. This latest data reveals that companies are now also under extreme pressure from spiralling gas and electricity bills as well as increased wages.

“The majority are having to raise prices in response, though many are also being forced to scale back planned investment or cut other costs from their balance sheet.

“The Chancellor must implement our five-point plan to give firms a chance to stabilise without having to seriously increase their prices, cut jobs or the investment that is so vital to sustaining our economic recovery from Covid.

“Unabated, the surging cost pressures produced by the cost-of-doing-business crisis will continue to lead to increased prices and fuel the cost-of-living crisis currently being faced by people across the country.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .