Small businesses welcome Rishi Sunak’s ‘jobs first approach’
Small businesses have welcomed Rishi Sunak’s plan to prioritise jobs as part of a raft measures to get the economy back on its feet.
Announcing his mini Budget today, the Chancellor pledged to “protect, support and create” jobs with a raft of new measures.
Among plans to boost consumer spending, the Chancellor has cut VAT from 20 per cent to five per cent for food, accommodation and attraction businesses, as well as “eating out” vouchers.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) applauded Sunak’s “jobs first approach” and said it was crucial to make sure “these positive new measures work for all”. Sunak’s green investment package, which will create thousands of new jobs, could also prove to be a lifeline for some SMEs.
“Making small firms a central part of this push will be critical to its success and local growth,” FSB national chairman Mike Cheery said.
He also welcomed the push on apprenticeships through the Kickstart scheme to help under 25s with the first steps in their careers. An initial £2bn has been made available for the scheme, which will directly pay employers to create jobs.
This was in contrast to the Shadow Chancellor who warned that there was a lack of solutions for SMEs who cannot take on additional debt, until the autumn. She told the Commons: “This risks many SMEs going to the wall.”
However the industry body did warn that not all small businesses will have been supported by the new measures. “We need the government to spell out how it will help the newly self-employed and company directors who have once again been overlooked this afternoon,” Cherry said.
Questions linger over new job retention bonus
Sunak also unveiled a new job retention bonus programme, which will offer a £1,000 payment to businesses for each employee they bring back from furlough.
Businesses have warned that the winding down of the current furlough scheme in October risks mass unemployment, and despite today’s announcement questions still remain on its implementation.
This afternoon Dodds asked the Chancellor what he will do for “those firms that lack the cash flow to operate even with that bonus.”
“The job retention bonus must be easy to access,” Cherry said. “We can’t have paperwork holding up this vital support.”
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