Trouble At Mill? Manufacturers In Yorkshire Warn That Government Help Will Arrive Too Late
Molly Jackson-Holm | 21st June 2022
In his Spring Statement, Chancellor Rishi Sunak promised that by the autumn, help for businesses would arrive. Amid the worries of rising energy bills and business rates, this seems like a lifeline – especially for those struggling to keep afloat after Covid-19. However several manufacturers in Yorkshire are saying that it is not enough. The promise of future support has no effect on businesses that are already feeling the strain. They have called upon the Chancellor to implement immediate action.
Make UK is a representative of manufacturers across the United Kingdom and has done so for decades. In 2020, they published their Make UK/BDO second quarter Manufacturing Outlook survey, which detailed just how the manufacturing sector had fared during the pandemic. It is Make UK’s belief, backed by the information gathered in their survey, that waiting until autumn will leave many businesses out to dry.
Just over 10% of manufacturers were operating at full capacity during this time. In an interview with The Yorkshire Post, Dawn Huntrod, Make UK’s director for the North, said:
“Whilst industry has recovered strongly over the last year we are clearly heading for very stormy waters in the face of eye-watering costs and a difficult international environment. Clearly some of the factors impacting companies are global and cannot be contained by the UK Government alone.”
One of Make UK’s recommendations to help slow the rising costs that businesses are facing is to reduce – or waive completely – business rates for twelve months. Business rates are often in the top five costs for a business, so an effective stopgap would allow businesses to start stabilising. They, along with many other manufacturers, are calling for immediate action from the government.
With the cost of living becoming more of a global issue every day, fortifying our local and national businesses future can only help to strengthen the UK’s economic security.
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