Take burdens off business call

4:34pm Monday 18th August 2008

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GOVERNMENT must take burdens off business to enable the economy to grow, according to the Chamber of Commerce Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

The latest national quarterly economic survey by the Chambers of Commerce across the UK shows that pressures on business are hitting hard and that economic growth has slowed dramatically.

Chris Harvey, head of policy for Worcestershire, said: “The UK economy is under very severe pressure and we need to see action by Government to strengthen the economy.

“Plans such as the introduction of rates on empty properties are already holding back business growth in Herefordshire and Worcestershire and should be scrapped now.

“We equally hope that the Bank of England will be able to reduce interest rates later this year to give further support to business.

“At the present time, we expect that overall the economy will still be able to show some growth of around one per cent over the year but, with rising costs in energy and raw materials, business needs the Government to carefully consider the impact of its policies and not add further cost burdens at this time.

“However, it’s fair to say that in Worcestershire and Herefordshire the picture is not all doom and gloom.

“In our region, we have many businesses that are doing well, despite the problems we are facing, and we must do all we can to build on our strengths so that we can work our way through this difficult time.”