Partner Article

BCC cuts UK growth forecasts

The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) has slashed UK economic growth forecasts from 0.6% to 0.1%. following official figures showing the UK has returned to recession.

The organisation, which represents more than 100,000 businesses, is now calling on the Government for more “enterprise friendly action from the Government.

The BCC also predict that unemployment will increase from 2.625 million to 2.9 million by the third quarter of 2013, due to public sector spending cuts.

The BCC director-general John Longworth also called for the creation of a business bank to provide capital for small business, more infrastructure spending, long term strategies for aviation and energy and more deregulation.

Mr Longworth believes that without this action the economy will struggle for longer than previously anticipated.

He continued: “If the government works together with the private sector to create the right environment over the long term, we’ll be able to prove once and for all that bold businesses can propel us forward out of stagnation and firmly on the road to recovery.”

Despite the poor outlook, the BCC have predicted that household spending will see a modest improvement, from shrinking 1.2% in 2011 to a growth in 0.7% in 2012, 1.7% in 2013 and 2.1% in 2014.

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