Shropshire's business community welcomes Budget support measures

Many believe the measures – including the extension of the furlough scheme, £5 billion to help high street firms reopen, support for the self-employed and incentives for apprenticeships – will help with the economic recovery from the pandemic.

The Chancellor has set out an extra £65 billion in Covid support for employees and businesses – but also announced a freeze on income tax thresholds and a rise in corporation tax to help pay back the UK's rising debts.

In his budget speech, Mr Sunak set out a three-part plan to "protect jobs and livelihoods of the British people".

Shropshire Chamber of Commerce welcomed the Chancellor’s decision to extend the furlough scheme, describing it as a "huge sigh of relief" for businesses across the county.

Richard Sheehan, the chamber’s chief executive, said: “We have been lobbying hard for this kind of approach, and it shows that the Government has listened to the business community.

“For all of those Shropshire businesses which are currently still closed, or running with virtually no reserves as a result of Covid restrictions, this is going to give them a huge sigh of relief.

“The furlough scheme has been a lifeline to all sectors of the Shropshire economy.

"We realise that a time is going to come when business support will have to reduce, and the Government will need to step up strategies to recoup much of the money it has spent.

“But a gradual transition, tapering down the financial support rather than abruptly cutting it off, is definitely the way forward. Shropshire companies which have been worst hit by Covid are not going to be able to rebuild overnight – it’s going to take time.

“And that means that this certainly isn’t the time for an end to crucial lifelines such as Business Rates Relief or the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.”

Mr Sheehan said the Government had also taken a sensible approach with its plans to raise Corporation Tax – by exempting companies with profits below £50,000 from the increase.

And he welcomed the extension of lower VAT rates for the hospitality industries. “This will make such a big difference in Shropshire, where the health of the tourism and leisure sector is so crucial,”

Lisa Snape, sales and marketing manager at The Best Western Valley Hotel in Ironbridge, also welcomed the extension of the furlough scheme.

"It is a huge relief for us and I should imagine many others in hospitality," she said

"This will allow us to retain our fabulous employees and bring people back slowly according to the demands of the business.

"Weddings and events will be smaller and returning slowly and therefore we can bring the staff back accordingly.

"We are desperate to open our restaurant and our hotel rooms and we hope once people are confident in the road map dates they will be supporting their local businesses and staycations will be taking place," he added.

Seb Slater, executive director of Shrewsbury BID which represents more than 500 businesses in Shrewsbury town centre, welcomed the ‘restart grants’ of up to £18,000 announced by the Chancellor ahead of the Budget, but said the issue of business rates was a longer-term concern.

Lobbying

He said: “Understandably the focus is very much on the immediate recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, and any financial assistance such as these restart grants will be very much welcomed by businesses.

“Here in Shrewsbury, traders are just looking forward to opening again and are hopeful of a good summer as long as infection levels continue to drop.

“However, business rates have been an issue since long before the pandemic, and we have been lobbying along with BIDs all over the country to get the system overhauled.

“The Government has pushed a review into business rates back to the autumn, but in the meantime we are pleased that the Chancellor has extended the suspension of business rates which will help businesses can flourish again as we emerge from lockdown.”

The Help to Grow scheme to improve productivity through funded support for digital solutions could be a game-changer for many businesses, according to web tech expert Shaun Carvill.

Mr Carvill, managing director of Bridgnorth-based Clickingmad, said the pandemic had forced many small businesses to move their services and products online and adopt digital technologies earlier than planned.

“Any support which can be provided to smaller businesses to enable them to keep up with this radical and irreversible digital shift is welcome news and we’re certain many business owners across our region will benefit from this new scheme. It could be a game-changer for a generation of enterprises,” he said.

Proposals to provide funding to the tune of £5 billion to support the recovery of local high streets following the Covid pandemic was also welcomed by Mr Carvill.

“It is absolutely vital that we get our town centre businesses up and running as soon as it’s safe to do so and this funding will hopefully help to soften the enormous financial strain which many high street businesses have faced," he said.

“Our Shropshire office is located in the heart of Bridgnorth, a usually busy, vibrant, market town, but the pandemic has turned it into a ghost town.

"It’s been so sad to see local coffee shops and non-essential shops closed for so long whilst we fight against this terrible pandemic. They need all the support they can to get back on their feet quickly and these restart grants will hopefully play a big part in getting our towns moving again.

Essential

“It will be essential however for the Government and local councils to ensure these grants are accessible easily and speedily to avoid any further financial burden.”

Steven Owen, managing director of Pave Aways which last year won Shropshire Chamber’s Education and Training award for the firm’s commitment to encouraging young people into construction, said increased cash incentives for employers could be the encouragement smaller businesses needed to take on an apprentice.

“It can be hard and seem like a big commitment for businesses to take on apprentices but we know that it can make a real difference towards building a more sustainable workforce for the future. At a time when finances may be tighter, additional funding could mean the difference between a business taking on an apprentice or not,” he said.

Mr Owen also welcomed the idea of more flexible apprenticeships particularly in a bid to attract older apprentices to the sector.

“Construction in particular is an industry where it would be easy for businesses to work together to offer a flexible apprenticeship scheme. There are a lot of smaller companies that we use that could benefit from having an apprentice but they aren’t able to offer them the full training required. A flexible apprentice scheme could have real rewards in this case.

“Increasing the age limit is another positive move as it means that those people who want to start again at a later age can do so on a living wage,” he added.

Gareth Jones, managing director of In-Comm Training which has three academies across the region, had mixed views on the apprenticeship incentives.

"Any support to get people into work and their chosen career path is gratefully received and we welcome the apprenticeship bonus doubling to £3,000," he said.

"However, I can’t see it encouraging new companies to take on apprentices, instead it will just increase payments to those already planning to recruit.

"The disengaged will remain exactly that…disengaged. We would have preferred a more focused funding plan to target organisations that have not employed an apprentice in the last twelve months or financial assistance to firms taking on a new employee aligned to a qualification, not necessarily just an apprenticeship.

"The skills gap that strangles industry is much bigger than filling the apprenticeship pipeline, as important as that is.”