Business group praises Chancellor's rescue package

Business West has come out firmly in favour of Chancellor Rishi Sunak's newly-announced measures - but cautions that they are a gamble.

Matt Best, policy director at the regional business advocacy organisation, said: “For someone who has only been Chancellor for five months, Rishi Sunak is proving a remarkably calm and capable operator. 

"This is lucky, because never have these qualities been more important.

“This is a critical moment. The withdrawal of furlough payments, amidst deep economic uncertainty and the continuation of social distancing, is a major risk: the UK could see an unprecedented collapse in employment that would do long lasting damage to our economy.

“For this reason, Rishi Sunak’s overwhelming focus was on jobs – on their protection and creation.

“And it was an impressive array of measures, from a jobs retention bonus to a £2bn kickstart fund for new jobs for young people, to a wider economic stimulus via stamp duty cuts and a five percent VAT rate for leisure and hospitality businesses.

“He also pulled a rabbit out of the hat with a voucher to get people back eating at restaurants.

“This economic statement, however, remains a gamble. Are firms confident enough to retain and create enough jobs in the face of such uncertainty? Will the measures be enough to counterbalance the hit to income and capacity that social distancing has given to our hospitality and food & drink industries? Will we see a second spike and local lockdowns to blow events off course?

“The Chancellor has an Autumn budget as fallback in case this statement isn’t enough. But in the meantime, let’s take up his generous offer to help our economy recover – if the Chancellor is buying, it is up to us to help support getting our local economy back on track.”

Mr Sunak's strategy was also hailed as a boost for the region by the Conservative Campaign Office, whose statement described it as a major shot in the arm for South West businesses.

The Conservatives said the VAT cut was designed to support the sectors that had been particularly hard-hit by the coronavirus crisis, helping businesses to recover and boosting the number of jobs across the country.

Up to 29,815 businesses, they added, could stand to benefit from the measures in the South West