Tag Archives: mini budget

Midlands News, News

Clarity welcome over economic policy says Q Financial Services

One of the region’s leading financial experts today said the mini-budget gave much-needed clarity over the Government’s future economic policy – but said the Chancellor must make driving down inflation and lowering interest rates a top priority. 

Mitch Gough, director at Q Financial Services, said moves to cut taxes and Stamp Duty, reverse the planned increase in National Insurance and scrap planned increases on Corporation Tax, would all help address the cost-of-living crisis and build on measures announced earlier this week to control both residential and commercial energy bills. 

But Mitch added that allowing inflation and interest rates to soar still further – and failing to support the supply of new housing developments to meet demand fuelled by the Stamp Duty cuts – would hinder future progress. 

“It is good to see the Government place such a clear priority on growing the economy and introducing a detailed set of proposals so soon after the new Prime Minister took office,” Mitch said. 

“After a period in which there seemed to be considerable drift, it is welcome that we now have a clear indication of the path the Government plans to take to help business and the commercial sector through this difficult period. 

“There is no doubt that the cut in Stamp Duty will fuel new demand in the property market, but this must be met with a sustained increase in supply if housing is to remain affordable. 

“Yesterday’s 0.5 per cent rise in interest rates to 2.25 per cent and the prospect of future increases and high inflation could mean that much of the extra cash the Government is handing back in this package is quickly eroded. 

“We want to see serious moves to tackle inflation and help reverse the trend for ever-rising interest rates, but fully support the drive for growth. 

“As ever, the devil will lie in the detail and we will be studying the Chancellor’s statement in great detail over the coming days to ensure we offer the most comprehensive advice possible to both our private and commercial clients.” 

Q Financial Services group, which has offices in Wellington and Shrewsbury, is one of the leading and fastest-growing companies in the sector across the Midlands. 

For more information about Q visit  https://www.qfinancialservices.co.uk/ 

Commercial Property, Midlands News, News

Mini-budget gives clarity after months of drift, says Bromwich Hardy

The founding partner of one of the region’s most successful commercial property firms says last week’s mini-budget finally gives business some certainty after months of drift.  

Tom Bromwich, of Coventry agency Bromwich Hardy, said the Government’s commitment to growing the economy finally offered the business community some much-needed clarity about economic policy. 

But he warned that the next 18 months would still be a challenging period as businesses negotiated greatly-increased energy costs, rising inflation, the cost of living crisis and recruitment issues. 

“After a period in which there seemed to be considerable drift, it is welcome that we now have a clear indication of the path the Government plans to take to help business and the commercial sector through this difficult period. 

“The commercial property market remains strong despite this backdrop, and more clarity on business rates and the Exchequer’s approach to commercial tax will help provide more of the certainty that business needs.  

“The reversal of plans to increase National Insurance, scrapping planned increases on Corporation Tax, the creation of new Low Tax Zones across the UK and the cuts in Stamp Duty, all have their merits.  

“But we want to see serious moves to tackle inflation and help reverse the trend for ever-rising interest rates, as well as power being given to planning authorities and their partners to bring forward the new developments needed to meet demand. 

“We at least have a starting point with the measures announced today and the plan to halve energy bills for the coming six months which gives us a foundation from which we can move forward.  

“But as ever with these statements, the devil will very much lie in the detail, which we will study in depth over the coming days so that we can offer the highest quality advice to our clients.”  

Bromwich Hardy is one of the country’s largest independent commercial property agencies, regularly featuring in independent lists of the most active firms in the industry.  

For more information about Bromwich Hardy visit www.bromwichhardy.com 

News

Summer Statement – Employment Trade Body responds

The Government’s ‘kickstart scheme’ aimed at getting 16-24-year olds into training – and the training incentives announced today are welcome but more needs to be done to ensure that the delivery mechanism of both apprenticeships and training is flexible enough to allow businesses such as recruitment firms to be part of the solution. That’s the opinion of The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), the trade body for the professional recruitment sector.

Responding to Sunak’s speech, Tania Bowers, APSCo’s Head of Public Policy said:

Recruitment sector can be part of solution

“We are optimistic about the Government’s plans – a highly trained and skilled workforce will obviously support the economic recovery but we are concerned that the delivery mechanism may be too rigid to allow recruitment firms to get involved in the delivery and implementation of the scheme. Young people working through recruitment firms would have the ability to work in a variety of different environments and gain multiple skills – our members are tapped into a multitude of employers across a wide variety of sectors and would be in a position to support and facilitate the scheme. We also hope that recruitment firms will be able to access the funding available for training for young people – and that it applies to PAYE employers so that agency workers can be included”

Apprenticeship Levy – more flexibility needed

“We are disappointed the Chancellor has not introduced more flexibility around the Apprenticeship Levy – we believe that the way in which levy funds can be used should be broadened to help re-skilling opportunities and facilitate the ‘skills pivot’ we will need to get people back to work. Currently the scheme can only be used to upskill employees on formal apprenticeship programmes so agency workers are excluded and the levy can’t be used for shorter term training, which would have been so useful during furlough.”

Job Retention bonus welcomed

“While we wholeheartedly welcome the Job Retention bonus which will help retain jobs, we were disappointed that the Chancellor chose not to reduce employer costs through an amendment to national insurance contributions – reducing employer costs while also putting more money in people’s pockets would have been a welcome intervention at this stage.”

Infrastructure spending will drive job growth

“We know from our experience of previous downturns that infrastructure spending drives job growth and so we welcome the investment designed to ensure a ‘green recovery’. However, the spending announced is still lower than that announced by Alistair Darling during the financial crisis and the Government must support the recovery by continuing the spending initiatives outlined in the 2020 budget.”