EEF’s key recommendations
- Introduce the final element of the compensation package for Energy Intensive Industries as soon as possible.
- The structural review of business rates should report within a fixed timeline to reduce uncertainty arising from the outcome.
- Back employer control of apprenticeship funding through the introduction of a voucher system to create a truly demand-led approach to buying training provision.
- Provide a further boost to the funding for and, promotion of, export support through UKTI.
- Improve access to the R&D tax credit, especially for SMEs, by re-designing the application process to reduce complexity and administration.
- Retain the annual investment allowance at its current rate of £500,000 and announce a full-scale review of the capital allowance system.
MANUFACTURERS are calling for this government’s last budget to focus on stimulating manufacturing growth in the UK.
Industry representative organisation, EEF, urges Chancellor George Osborne to resist a pre-election giveaway.
Among a series of measures, EEF is calling for the compensation package for energy intensive industries to be brought forward to offset the crippling cost of energy which is a competitive threat and is undermining industries such as steel-making in the UK.
The Department for Business has indicated that approval for such a measure under state aid rules from Brussels could come as early as September.
EEF’s latest quarterly review of the economic outlook for manufacturing paints a generally positive picture with projected growth of 1.7% in the sector this year, though the outlook for some sectors is more mixed.
Risks still remain with a third of manufacturers expecting an improvement in economic conditions compared to two thirds at the same time last year. However, seven out of ten companies see the UK as a competitive location in which to operate and EEF is urging the Chancellor to cement the UK’s reputation as a place that is open for business with measures to boost investment and exports.
The manufacturers’ organisation is seeking support from the Chancellor for a scheme that puts employers in the driving seat in the training and funding of apprenticeships. EEF has long called for a step-change in the way apprenticeships are funded and is recommending the introduction of a voucher model which would allow employers to purchase training from providers.
