Jonathan Browning, chairman of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP), said: “There was a great deal to be positive about in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement to help businesses thrive and boost our economy.
“For SMEs in particular the fact business rate relief has been doubled for a further year will be welcomed along with an inflation-linked increase in business rates capped at 2%, and these kinds of savings can give owners the financial capacity to invest in their company.
“Increasing R&D tax credits for SMEs is another bonus particularly in this area where R&D is particularly strong in a wide range of sectors.
“The CWLEP has been extremely successful in securing grant funding for companies across the area.
“The news that the government is to allocate a further £1 billion from the £12 billion Local Growth Fund between 2016-17 and 2020-21 to support a second round of Growth Deals which means we will be able to support even more businesses in their expansion plans and job creation.
“Coventry and Warwickshire’s location means we attract a high proportion of logistics companies to be situated near the motorway network and freezing fuel duty is another positive to help them transport goods across the UK at a more reasonable cost.
“Abolishing taxes for employers on recruiting apprenticeships aged under 25 is great news for improving the skills of the next generation.
“Skills is high on the agenda of the CWLEP and this will hopefully enable employers to recruit more apprentices and teach them the skills they need.
“As is always the case, the devil is always in the detail when we analyse George Osborne’s report in the coming days but initially it looks like an Autumn Statement that will help business growth.”
