The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has called on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to introduce an £18.6 billion package of measures to support business when he delivers his Autumn Statement next month.

It wants Philip Hammond to use his first major fiscal announcement to boost investment and infrastructure and demonstrate “continued support” for companies. It also wants the Government to promise not to introduce any new taxes on firms before 2020.


The BCC went on to say that it wants to see further reform of business rates, measures to widen tax breaks for investment, and improvements in the Apprenticeship Levy scheme. It estimates that its proposals would cost an
average of £4.6 billion a year over the next four years, or 0.6% of Government spending — totalling £18.6 billion.

BCC director general Adam Marshall said: “The Autumn Statement gives the Government a great chance to set the tone for its relationship with British business by ‘pulling out all the stops’ to support investment, infrastructure improvements and business confidence.

“Plans to cut business costs and support investment would help firms take risks and seize opportunities in spite of the on-going uncertainty surrounding the Brexit process. Westminster must do everything in its gift to improve the business environment, and firms will re-pay that backing with investment, hiring, training and export growth.”

Meanwhile, the Institute of Directors has said, that unlike some other employer organisations, it does not believe that rising inflation will lead to a large increase in wages. Commenting on last week’s news that the unemployment rate held steady at 4.9% in the three months to August, IoD head economist Michael Martins said: “The UK has reached ‘full employment’, so we would normally expect to see wage increases coming through.”

However, he believes that a lack of vacancies in the jobs market will keep increases at a “steady” rate. “The number of vacancies has shrunk in smaller businesses. Historically, many workers have increased their wages by moving to new jobs, rather than bargaining for higher wages where they are. If vacancies continue to suffer, it seems likely that wage growth will be limited.”