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No room for ?slash and burn? in Pre-Budget Report

A North East business group has sent the Chancellor a warning that any attempts to cut support for businesses in his forthcoming Pre-Budget Report could spell disaster for the UK’s economic recovery.

The North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) has urged Alistair Darling to steer well clear of a “slash and burn” approach to cost-cutting in an attempt to fill the void in public finances.

In its submission to Alistair Darling ahead of the Pre-Budget Report (PBR), NECC says that the Treasury has a responsibility to curb spending and to find savings in the public sector.

James Ramsbotham, chief executive of NECC said: “Now is very definitely not the time to slash and burn the very measures that have set us on track for recovery. The Chancellor has some hard decisions ahead of him to redress the hefty public debt but any cuts that come must not be in frontline support aimed at stimulating business growth.

“It will fall at the feet of businesses to drive through the economic recovery. They alone are capable of generating the profit and employment from which taxes are raised for the public purse. It would be wholly unacceptable to expect firms to do this with one hand tied behind their backs. The stimulus measures introduced to date must be allowed to run their course.

“It is essential the Chancellor makes decisions that will support business to help drive the recovery and not penalise or hinder it unnecessarily.”

Among issues raised by the NECC were employment policies that hinder employers, empty property rates, infrastructure concerns and air passenger duty.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .