rishi sunak - Neighbourhood Retailer

Retailers brand Rishi Sunak’s spring statement a ‘missed opportunity’

Linda Stewart — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 16:30:31 +0000

Retailers in Northern Ireland have branded Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement announcements a missed opportunity.

The Chancellor said 70% of workers will get an effective tax cut as he raises the threshold for paying National Insurance (NI) by £3,000. He also announced a 5p cut to fuel duty to come into force at 6pm tonight and said the basic rate of income tax will go from 20% to 19% by the end of Parliament in 2024.

However, the Office for Budget Responsibility said that the Spring Statement only unwound a sixth of the tax rises imposed since February 2020.

UK households are set to see the biggest drop in their spending power in 2022-23 since records began in 1956, due rising prices combined with the impact of tax increases, according to the OBR.

The UK economy is forecast to grow by 3.8% this year, according to the OBR – a sharp drop from its previous prediction of 6.0%. The economy is then forecast to grow by 1.8% in 2023 and 2.1% in 2024.

The OBR predicted UK inflation is now set to average 7.4% this year – the highest since August 1991 – as the Ukraine crisis will further disrupt supply chains and send energy bills soaring. It had previously forecast Consumer Prices Index inflation to average 4% in 2022.

Real household disposable incomes per person – the money people have to spend after covering essentials, and taking into account inflation – are forecast to fall by 2.2 per cent in 2022-23, the biggest fall in a financial year since the Office for National Statistics began keeping records.

Reacting to the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said: “While it is welcome that the Chancellor is to cut Fuel Duty by 5p per litre and increase Employment Allowance NIC payments, this statement does not begin to tackle the perfect storm of cost increases facing our members.

“It is not just a cost-of-living crisis we face; it is a cost of doing business crisis as well. Increasing National Insurance for business is the wrong tax at the wrong time and will limit economic growth at a time when we need it more than ever. This is a missed opportunity.”

Ann McGregor, Chief Executive, Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NI Chamber) said: “The Spring Statement falls short of the action businesses needed to see today. While there are some positive announcements that firms will welcome, it did not fundamentally address the huge cost pressures they are facing.

“For example, while cuts to fuel duty are welcome, in reality, the reduction is small when compared to the larger tsunami of surging costs that is bearing down on firms and households.

“The Statement lacked the kind of decisive action which businesses, who are already struggling with a rapidly escalating ‘cost of doing business’ crisis, needed to see. Smaller firms are particularly exposed as they have neither the protections, or financial support provided to households, nor the negotiating power of larger businesses.

“As the economic outlook is likely to get worse before it gets better, many firms will be forced to continue raising prices, further fuelling the cost-of-living crisis. Businesses are braced to face some gruelling weeks and months ahead. More is needed to support them and protect jobs through the domestic and global economic shocks to come.”

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PRA urges UK Chancellor to cut fuel duty, warning NI retailers will lose out

Linda Stewart — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 11:01:35 +0000

The Petrol Retailers Association has urged the UK Chancellor to cut fuel duty, warning that retailers in Northern Ireland are being put at a disadvantage.
Global energy prices are still volatile due to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, unduly impacting consumers at the same time as cost-of-living increases, the PRA says.
The PRA is calling on the Chancellor to follow the example of other European countries and cut fuel duty to shield consumers from international events.
The Republic of Ireland (ROI) has cut fuel duty, putting forecourts in Northern Ireland (NI) at a competitive disadvantage as motorists and fleet operators cross the border to fill their tanks.
Gordon Balmer, Executive Director of the PRA said: “It is crucial that the Government takes steps to reduce the burden of energy prices on consumers. Government inaction is now impacting our members in NI, who are unable to match the prices of their counterparts across the border. We strongly urge the Chancellor to follow the example of other European countries and cut fuel duty.”
In a letter to the Chancellor, the PRA warned: “We expect that NI residents that can take advantage of the significant difference in pump prices across the border will do so and heavy goods vehicles (HGV) operators will be sending their fleets in greater numbers to ROI border sites to replenish their vehicles, reducing demand for petrol filling stations in NI and hampering their ability to continue their operation through no fault of their own.
“This is putting our NI members at a competitive disadvantage, as it is impossible to match prices across the border without Government intervention.
“While the ROI, along with other European countries, has taken significant steps to shield their consumers and businesses from soaring energy prices, the UK is yet to act. At a time when cost-of-living is increasing, rising energy prices are something motorists in this country can’t afford.
“This will impact the poorest among us the hardest as they are slowly priced off the roads. The need for Government action is urgent. With no end to the Ukraine crisis in sight it falls upon the Government to shield its population. The continued absence of action will have a detrimental impact on UK consumers.”

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Don’t turn your back on struggling businesses, NFRN tells Rishi Sunak

Linda Stewart — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 10:48:32 +0000

Independent retailers have urged Rishi Sunak to extend support to small businesses struggling with rocketing costs.

The NFRN welcomed £350 help package for households is welcome, but appealed to the government to help retailers as well.

The Chancellor announced a payment of £350 to help UK households cope with a rise in energy bills as Ofgem revealed that the new energy bill price cap will rise by 54 per cent per cent from April. He said the government would help around 28 million households this year.

NFRN National President Narinder Randhawa said: “Independent retailers kept Britain going during the lockdown but now it is essential that the government helps us.

“Our 11,000 members are facing a string of cost hikes in April, with increases to minimum wage rates and national insurance contributions, the reintroduction of business rates, and now rocketing gas and electricity bills.

“To satisfy customer demand and to keep everyone safe, our members’ stores contain chillers, freezers, EPoS, bright lighting and CCTV. As each year passes, it becomes increasingly difficult to cut these costs.

“Members in town and city centre locations have also seen footfall drop during the lockdown and as workers continue to resist calls to go back to the office.”

Mr Randhawa continued: “We will be writing to Rishi Sunak to ask him not to turn his back on independent retailers and to give us help and support as our bills rocket.”

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Real Living Wage rises to £9.90 an hour

Linda Stewart — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 16:28:34 +0000

More than 300,000 people working for employers who have voluntarily signed up to the Real Living Wage are getting a pay boost of 40p to £9.90 an hour.

This is different from the compulsory National Living Wage, which is currently £8.91 an hour for anyone over the age of 23. Real Living Wage employers in London will pay £11.05 an hour, a 20p rise.

Latest research by the Living Wage Foundation shows that there are still 4.8 million jobs – 17.1% of all employees – still paying less than the Real Living Wage in the UK.

Northern Ireland had the highest proportion of jobs paying below the Living Wage at 21.3%, while south-east England had the lowest at 12.8%.

Workers from ethnic minority groups are also more likely to be low-paid, with 19.4% of these workers earning below the Living Wage, compared with 16.3% of white workers.

Almost 9,000 employers throughout the country have signed up to the policy – 3,000 of them during the pandemic.

Companies include half of the FTSE 100 and big household names such as Everton Football Club, insurer Aviva, luxury goods brand Burberry and the Nationwide building society.

The recommended rate is intended to ensure all staff earn a wage that meets the real cost of living and covers everyday needs.

The Living Wage Foundation’s director, Katherine Chapman, said the new pay rates, which apply from Monday, would “provide hundreds of thousands of workers and their families with greater security and stability”.

“It is still a pound, two pounds higher than the [national] minimum wage and that makes a huge difference. That means not having to worry about putting food on the table, or paying the bills at the end of the month.

“And we’ve seen record numbers of employers signing up this year because ultimately they want to do the right thing by their workers.”

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said that the organisation’s report showed that low pay was “endemic”, with millions of workers in jobs that do not fully cover their bills.

“With Britain in the middle of a cost-of-living crunch, it’s time for the government to act,” she said.

“Ministers must start by increasing the minimum wage to £10 immediately, banning zero hours contracts and giving trade unions greater access to workplaces to negotiate improved pay and conditions.”

At the Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the National Living Wage will increase next year by 6.6%, to £9.50 an hour. The Universal Credit taper rate will also be cut, allowing claimants to keep more of the payment.

Usdaw leader Paddy Lillis said that the new rate of £9.90 per hour and £11.05 in London was welcome but that the union would continue to call for at least £10 per hour for all ages.

He added: “Many of the key workers who have helped us through the pandemic earn less than the real Living Wage.

“The public’s appreciation for the efforts of key workers delivering essential services is welcome, but that doesn’t pay the rent or put food on the table.

“So the new Living Wage rates are welcome, which are based on an individual’s cost of living and clearly show that the Government’s so-called ‘National Living Wage’ is nothing of the sort.

“Usdaw has consistently campaigned for at least £10 per hour immediately for all workers over 16, which would abolish rip-off youth rates.

“If you’re old enough to do the job, you’re old enough to be paid the rate for the job.”

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Prosecco and pint taxes to fall, red wine to rise

Linda Stewart — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 15:22:37 +0000

Taxes on sparkling wine, draught beer and cider are to be cut, but will rise for stronger drinks such as red wine following the Budget’s shake-up of alcohol duty.

The new system, due to start in 2023, will mean higher duty for stronger alcohol, the chancellor said.

The duty premium on sparkling wines will end and the duty on draught beer and cider served in pubs will be cut.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that a planned increase in duty on spirits, wine, cider and beer has been cancelled.

“To radically simplify the system, we are slashing the number of main duty rates from 15 to just six,” the chancellor said.

“Our new system will be designed around a common-sense principle: the stronger the drink, the higher the rate. This means that some drinks, like stronger red wines, fortified wines, or high-strength ‘white ciders’ will see a small increase in their rates because they are currently undertaxed given their strength.”

Mr Sunak said many lower alcohol drinks were “currently overtaxed”, adding: “Rose, fruit ciders, liqueurs, lower strength beers and wines – today’s changes mean they will pay less.”

In relation to sparkling wines, Mr Sunak said: “I’m going to end the irrational duty premium of 28% that they currently pay. Sparkling wines – wherever they are produced – will now pay the same duty as still wines of equivalent strength.”

In a move to help struggling pubs, Mr Sunak announced a new lower rate of duty for draught drinks, which he said would cut the cost of a pint by about three pence.

He said the “draught relief will cut duty by 5%” and “will apply to drinks served from draught containers over 40 litres”.

The chancellor said this would particularly benefit community pubs “who do 75% of their trade on draught”.

He also announced proposals for a new “small producer relief” to include small cidermakers and other producers making alcoholic drinks of less than 8.5% alcohol by volume (ABV).

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