Business News Round Up (07/03/2024)
‘Shocking’ lack of support for hospitality while small firms needs more support – North West reacts to Budget of missed opportunities
The Budget didn’t go far enough and didn’t do enough for some key sectors – those were some of the key messages from North West business leaders after Jeremy Hunt’s speech. The Chancellor’s speech on Wednesday included a headline 2p cut to national insurance, as well as fuel and alcohol duty freezes, the abolition of non-dom tax status, and support for low-income households. The speech also included confirmation of AstraZeneca’s £450m investment in its Speke vaccine plant in Liverpool, a massive boost for the region’s life science’s sector. But the speech was also criticised for its lack of support for key sectors such as hospitality, while the Federation of Small Businesses said small firms needed more support. Sacha Lord, the Nighttime Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester, and Chair of the Nighttime Industries Association, said the lack of support for the hospitality sector was “shocking”.
Warning of almost 20 years of pay stagnation
The UK faces nearly 20 years of lost pay growth, a think tank which focuses on low and middle earners says. The Resolution Foundation said that, after taking account of rising prices, the average wage will not regain its 2008 level until 2026. The body also said that Wednesday’s Budget will mean a net tax cut of £9bn is taking effect in an election year. However, it also said pensioners had been the big losers from tax changes during this parliament. The Resolution Foundation’s analysis of the Budget found that despite the government’s official forecaster cutting its for forecast for inflation – the rate at which prices rise – real average wages faced “a staggering near-two lost decades of pay growth”. It said that if pay had continued to grow at the same pace seen before the 2008 financial crisis, the average worker in 2023 would have been around £14,000 better off.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68498937
Green light for new rail service between London and Scotland
A new train service between London and central Scotland has been given the go-ahead. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said it has approved an application by Grand Union Trains to operate four daily return services between London Euston and the city of Stirling from June 2025. These trains will also call at Milton Keynes Central, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert. They will provide more competition for several operators such as LNER and Avanti West Coast. The ORR said it found that the plan submitted by Grand Union Trains would increase choice for passengers and significantly increase direct journey options between London and both central and southern Scotland, while making use of existing capacity on the network. In December 2022, the ORR approved an application by Grand Union Trains to launch a new service between London Paddington and Carmarthen.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/green-light-new-rail-service-32292507
£350m AstraZeneca investment boost as Hunt targets growth
Plans for a £650m investment by AstraZeneca to build a new vaccine manufacturing hub in Liverpool and expand its footprint in Cambridge were among the measures announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in a Budget he said would help drive long term growth. The investment in Liverpool’s life sciences sector follows the announcement of £31m of new money for regeneration earlier this month. AstraZeneca intends to invest £450m at its manufacturing site in Speke, Liverpool, for the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines – building on the site’s current role in supplying the childhood vaccination programme. The new facility will be designed and built to be operationally net zero with power supplied from renewable energy sources. In his speech, Hunt said the UK’s economy was turning a corner, with inflation expected to fall to 2 per cent in the next few months, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.