Chancellor’s lockdown cash offer under fire from Peterborough business leader

John Bridge, chief executive of Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce, has attacked Mr Sunak’s £4.6 billion support package for business as not enough for thousands of struggling enterprises that have been dealt a body blow by the lockdown announcement.

Mr Sunak outlined the financial stimulus just a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson plunged the nation into its third lockdown in a bid to halt the spread of Covid-19.

But Mr Bridge said Mr Sunak had been ‘conspicuous by his absence and silence’ after the announcement - in stark contrast to the first lockdown last year when the Chancellor won national acclaim after announcing an array of innovative measures to help beleaguered businesses.

Mr Bridge said: “Businesses will understand why the Prime Minister yesterday felt compelled to act on the spiralling threat to public health, but they will be baffled and disappointed by the fact that he did not announce additional support at the same time for affected businesses alongside these new restrictions.

“Chancellor Rishi was conspicuous by his absence and silence, very different to previous lockdowns, and quietly issued a press release this morning with additional yet inadequate support once again.

Mr Bridge said: “The lockdown announced is a body blow to our business communities, hard on the heels of lost trade during the festive season and uncertainty linked to the end of the Brexit transition period.

“Tens of thousands of firms are already in a precarious position, and now face a period of further hardship and difficulty.

“Billions have already been spent helping good firms to survive this unprecedented crisis and to save jobs.

“These businesses must not be allowed to fail now, when we are told the vaccine rollout provides light at the end of this long tunnel.”

And Mr Bridge has also accused the Prime Minister of ‘blowing in the wind’ with vague promises for the future.

He said: “However, the Prime Minister said ‘By the middle of February, if things go well and with a fair wind in our sails, we expect to have offered the first vaccine dose to everyone in the four top priority groups.’

“But what does ‘in the wind’ mean? If something is in the wind, people are talking about it and it may happen, but no one is sure.

“Blowin` In The Wind? Is that the strategic thinking that our business community, as well as everybody else, would be expecting from the Prime Minister at this difficult and increasingly challenging time for many.

“He needs to clearly set out his overall short and long-term strategy together with the tactical and operational timely implementation of this without delay.

“The Chancellor then needs to set out a clear business support package for the whole of 2021 - not just until Spring - to help businesses of all shapes and sizes survive this difficult and uncertain year.

“The financial support for businesses needs to be stepped up in line with the devastating restrictions being placed on them.

“Otherwise, many of these firms may simply not be there to power our recovery when we emerge once again.

“Support must be sufficient to cover not just those on the front line of retail, hospitality and leisure, but also firms in supply chains and wider business communities who are also feeling the devastating impacts of these restrictions.

“And to be absolutely clear on this, it means additional support for businesses who’ve already had some help and first-time support for the millions who have had none.

“We will be actively and urgently continuing to press the government on this key issue at a time when cash flow is critical for many which will include extending the capital repayment holiday on existing loans as well as extending the loan term by the amount of the repayment holiday.

“We will also be raising the issue of the Job Retention Bonus (JRB), asking the Chancellor to rethink his position on this and meet his commitment to pay the JRB as planned in early 2021 to assist with cash flow and the costs firms are facing through the lockdown and no fault of their own.”