We need a Budget that will fire up the engines of growth and get the recovery moving

Cut fuel duty? Reduce red-tape? Lower corporation tax? Help small businesses? Tax the banks – again? Here, members of the Yorkshire Shadow Monetary Policy Committee, which has been monitoring interest rates, offer their advice to Mr Osborne.

Jonathan Oxley

Chairman of the Yorkshire Shadow MPC and Senior Partner at Lee & Priestley

“IT is essential that this is a budget for business. The private sector is recovering, but performance is patchy and there is still a risk that the impact of public sector cuts will be a further drag on activity. There should be a strong stimulus through targeted tax cuts and incentives to encourage growth and investment.

“I would favour a phased reduction of corporation tax, capital gains tax and National Insurance so we are still generating maximum revenues in the short-term, but so that businesses know there is a reward further down the line. Where we do need short-term action is in relation to fuel duty.”

Bill Cowling

Honorary Show Director of Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

“MUCH has been said and written about the issues the rural community face regarding transport costs with many people not having the choice of being able to use public transport. It therefore follows that there should be no increase in fuel duty.

“Similarly, duty on red diesel – which is used by the agricultural and construction sectors – should be moderated. Over recent years, the differential between this and road diesel has narrowed and if we are to stimulate growth, then this needs to be borne in mind.

Part of the problem we find ourselves in has come about from the “spend, spend, spend” culture – it’s time we looked at reducing inheritance tax, which penalises those who save and plan for the future.”

Judith Donovan

Heads DIY Direct marketing

“I PASSIONATELY believe SMEs are the engines of growth; this Government so far is paying lip service to that concept while cuddling up to big business; we don’t need schemes and incentives and special favours.

“Yorkshire folk will do it for themselves if given a level playing field; lift the ridiculous and onerous employment law burdens for businesses employing under 10 people and the Yorkshire economy will fly; I should know. I built an SME to over £10m turnover and I sold because of these appalling laws and I would never start another business while they persist.”

Andrew Palmer

CBI Regional Director

“THIS Budget must demonstrate a relentless focus on growth to help get the UK and the region working again. We need an all-action Budget which boosts exports, investment and jobs.

“The Budget should create the framework for a Mittelstand of mid-cap businesses by ensuring they can access the capital they need to expand at home and abroad. Mobile talent needs a good reason to do business in the UK, so the Chancellor should signal a road map for reducing the 50p tax rate.

“The incentive behind the Carbon Reduction Commitment must be restored to help companies go green, and if not, it should be stopped altogether because in its current form it adds yet another cost to doing business.

“And we want to hear more about how the planning system will genuinely deliver swift decisions on infrastructure, and less about abolishing the Infrastructure Planning Commission.”

Bobby Patel

Operations director at Prashad restaurant in Bradford.

“THE recovery is relying on the private sector, and the Budget should place the emphasis firmly on helping SMEs recruit new employees. I hope that the Chancellor will put in place real incentives to encourage SMEs to invest in their businesses and increase workforce flexibility to make it easier for businesses to hire new employees.

“Initiatives such as young mentoring schemes or apprenticeships should also be encouraged and incentivised. This is particularly important in the ethnic restaurant sector since the Migration Advisory Committee imposed tough new restrictions on Non EU chefs working in the UK. Specialised ethnic chefs, with years of experience in their own country, cannot be replicated in this country at the present time.

“The Chancellor needs to support the development of training schemes involving Asian restaurateurs to combat the skills shortage and develop a sustainable solution to ensure the continued success of a major business sector in Yorkshire.”

Joanne Pollard

Chief executive of CO2 Sense.

“THE Government needs to make sure that businesses in Yorkshire are at the heart of the economic recovery. And with massive global opportunities in the environmental sector, that means providing investment for the green projects – like renewable energy, and efficient recycling – that Yorkshire businesses are perfectly placed to deliver.

“So the best thing that the Chancellor can do to help the recovery is to make sure that the Green Investment Bank, which he announced in the Spending Review, is capable of delivering the billions of pounds of investment that are needed. And that means setting the Bank up as a fully-capitalised bank with the ability to issue bonds.”

Mark Stuart

A York-based political analyst.

“I BELIEVE that the Government should take two key steps to boost the economy of Yorkshire. Firstly, I’d like local councils to ease the terrible burden of rates currently being imposed on businesses, especially on retail outlets here in York. Long-standing, family-run shops are either being forced out of business or cast into industrial estates in Clifton Moor.

“Secondly, banks must start lending. Far too many good businesses in Yorkshire cannot access the necessary capital to fund perfectly sound investment opportunities. If things don’t improve soon, we should consider setting up our own local banks instead.”