Midlands business leaders respond positively to the Autumn Statement

WEST Midlands companies and the bodies that represent them have mainly welcomed the measures announced in the Autumn Statement yesterday.

Andy Street, chair of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) said: “The spending review paints an encouraging picture indeed. The Chancellor has clearly recognised the ambition of GBSLEP and its partners to drive economic growth and the good progress being made to achieve our aims, and has backed us to deliver.

“Through the West Midlands Devolution Agreement, Government is rightly putting greater power in the hands of the local people and businesses so that they can make the decisions on skills, employment and transport that will drive local growth, through the initiatives such as the newly-approved Curzon Street Enterprise Zone, Eastside Metro extension and our plans for a devolved skills system.

“The Midlands is leading the national recovery, and we welcome the Chancellor’s announcement of £5m to produce a Midlands Engine Trade and Investment Plan, through which the world-leading strengths of the Midlands will be promoted to attract global investment and continue to drive national recovery and growth through the Midlands Engine.

“We are pleased that the Chancellor has backed Local Enterprise Partnerships by confirming his commitment to the Local Growth Fund. Already, GBSLEP’s Local Growth Fund programme is delivering transformative benefits for the local economy, improving transport networks, unlocking economic sites and boosting skills provision in key sectors.

“Amidst all the positives, it is right that we recognise the environment in which the public sector, and local government in particular, are operating. There is no doubt that departmental cuts will present challenges. However, we have already shown that we can rise to those challenges when we work together and can make a real difference to people’s lives when we focus on the economic growth and prosperity of the Greater Birmingham & Solihull residents and businesses.”

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Business leaders in Coventry and Warwickshire gave the thumbs up to Chancellor George Osborne’s commitment to investment in housing, apprenticeships and infrastructure.

Chamber chief executive Louise Bennett said: “The general tone of this Autumn Statement/Spending Review is one that business across Coventry and Warwickshire will be behind.

“More apprentices, more spending on infrastructure and more housing will all be welcomed as we look to grow our economy and create more wealth and more jobs that pay for the public services we need.

“As the Chancellor said, there are no jobs without a successful private sector and this statement was very much about moving the UK from a country that borrows, to a country that invests in the infrastructure it needs to pave the way for growth.”

Johnathan Dudley, chair of the Alliance 4 the Black Country, said: “This was a positive statement and 60% of the delegates attending felt much the same.

“The news on devolved powers was interesting but the majority of manufacturers are ambivalent about any benefits the Combined Authority might bring.

“The Chancellor has signalled that support for the aerospace and automotive sectors will be in the form of loans. After the considerable support that the Regional Growth Fund has given to the region, it will be interesting to see if we can maintain the high rates of business growth we have been experiencing into the future.”
 
Paul Cadman, managing director of Futura Group and winners of the Black Country Chamber Manufacturer of the Year Award 2015, said: “I would like to have seen a little more to help manufacturing such as more widespread support in reducing energy costs and more money available to help offset the costs of improving productivity.

“As a company that invests in apprenticeships we are interested to see how the levy works and how we can help more local young people get a foothold in the employment ladder.”

Representatives of the region’s property sector were also largely positive in their response to measures announced by the Chancellor.
 
Andrew Bryant, residential sales and lettings manager for Birmingham-based CPBigwood, said the pledge to double the housing budget to more than £2bn a year and provide 400,000 new affordable homes in England was “very welcome” – the plans include 200,000 new starter units to help young, first time buyers purchase at a 20% discount and 135,000 Help-to-Buy Shared Ownership properties.
 
He said: “It is a tremendous package. We need to work together to solve the wider issues.”

From a commercial property perspective, Ian Cornock, Birmingham-based lead director at consultancy JLL said: “We predicted 2015 was the year of the regions and the Autumn Statement very much focused on demonstrating the Government’s commitment to achieving long term sustainable growth at a local level – talking of a devolution revolution for which the Midlands received a positive name check – certainly a step in the right direction.

“The opportunity to keep revenue from business rates will also enable us to direct money where it is needed and we must ensure the smooth and speedy transition to devolved powers so we can start to reap the benefits.
 
“Having enjoyed a remarkable year in Birmingham and the Midlands for investment, we need to ensure we build on this and achieve sustained economic growth. The news of capital spending on transport increasing by 50% to £61bn is very welcome as infrastructure and transport is one of the biggest key indicators for investors when looking to the regions.

“Reinforcing its commitment to HS2 will also be heard around the world and continue to bring Birmingham and the Midlands into focus.”

Jeremy Blackburn, head of policy at property industry body RICS, had some reservations about the announcements made. He said: “The Chancellor started off with good news, confirming that the North is growing faster than the South and that the Midlands is creating jobs three times faster than London and the South East. In the past year alone we have seen more people in work in the Northern Powerhouse than ever before which demonstrates a positive future for the region.

“However, there was not much in the Spending Review for devolution in the North and Midlands that we didn’t already know or expect. It is all well and good discussing devolved authorities setting their own business rates, however, as we know business location decisions are made on much more than that and on the face of it this could be a recipe for prosperous areas with well-formed local economies to gain while those areas who are already struggling may find it harder.

“Highlighting the quarter of a trillion pounds worth of property assets held by councils, the Chancellor said they could retain 100% of the receipts from any sales.

“There will be a suspicion that the Government is forcing councils to sell off public assets and raid reserves for the short term gain and, once again, there will be winners and losers as some councils will be asset rich and in regions of high demand, while others won’t.”