West of England Firms have slammed government financial support for businesses forced to close during the most recent lockdown as grossly inadequate. Some 54% of businesses that were shuttered during November – including restaurants, cafes and non-essential retailers – said the financial assistance covered less than a quarter of their overheads, a new survey...
Production at car giant Honda’s Swindon plant is being paused because of a shortage of parts, the firm announced today. The plant, which will close permanently next year with the loss of all 3,500 jobs, was being hit by “transport-related parts delay”, Honda said. A number of UK ports are struggling to cope with...
A third of South West firms still do not know if they will be impacted by Brexit with less than four weeks to go to the end of the UK-EU transition period, according to a new survey. At the same time 46% are worried that Brexit could have a bigger impact on them than...
The award-winning Trading Through Brexit service run by Business West has been relaunched to help companies make crucial last-minute adjustments to the way they operate ahead of the end of the UK-EU transition period. Regardless of whether or not a deal is reached between UK and EU negotiators ahead of deadline on December 31,...
Business West, which runs the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative, was disappointed with the lack of capital investment promised by the government for the West of England. Policy manager Claire Ralph said: “Some minor funding has been allocated to the West of England Combined Authority for local transport improvements through the Transforming Cities Fund. “Elsewhere...
Business groups have welcomed the investment in infrastructure and jobs in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spending Review but said many firms still needed more help from the government. The CBI praised the Chancellor for making “some bold autumn decisions” to power a spring recovery even as the stark forecasts pointed to tough times ahead. But...
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is delivering his much-anticipated Spending Review, outlining how the government will tackle the huge economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The main points so far are: The government is spending £280bn on tackling Covid-19 But the Chancellor says: “The economic damage is likely to be lasting.” Forecast for UK borrowing...
The government has been warned that it cannot “keep switching businesses on and off like a light switch” through Covid-19 related national lockdowns and regional tiers without expecting severe consequences. Instead, firms need a plan that keeps them, and the economy, open throughout winter and beyond, according to Business West, the organisation that runs...
Boosting skills and developing the physical and digital infrastructure will be vital for South West to build back better from the economic ravages of coronavirus, the CBI said today in a major new report. Called Reviving Regions, the paper highlights long-standing regional inequalities across England which have inhibited growth, opportunity and productivity for generations. These economic disparities, both...
Swindon firms trading in Europe have been told that it is ‘almost too late’ if they have not planned for a worst case scenario following the end of the Brexit transition on January 1. The 50-day countdown to that date was on Wednesday and Business West, the region’s largest business organisation, fears many firms...
