George Osborne’s Autumn Statement is somewhat of a curate’s egg – good in parts.  The measures he announced that will impact most strongly on the South West include the £500m house building plan paid for through the sale of social housing coupled with the mortgage indemnity scheme to help first time buyers. 

“Getting Britain building is a big issue in this region as are the cost of fuel and rail fares.  Capping these is good news, however temporary.  The infrastructure cash boost which approved the A380 Newton Abbot to Torquay by-pass is one specific area where we can identify grounds for real optimism.  While it has long term benefits to the local economy, it will create a great many local jobs during the construction phase including the civil engineering sector, road transport, locally sourced materials and an extended supply chain.

“Other measures announced look good at first glance but are really tampering with the edges. Increasing the Bank Levy, more money for schools and a £50 subsidy to your South West Water bill are all crowd pleasers but are not going to do too much to enhance market confidence and that’s what the economy needs. 

“It’s also good to cut red tape and to provide SMEs with greater access to credit with lower interest rates when they get it, but the huge uncertainty regarding the fate of the Eurozone is likely to deter as many businesses from wanting to hire staff and invest in expansion through borrowing as it will encourage others to think that at last help is on its way.

“The level of Government borrowing, the woefully low assessment of growth and the European Sovereign Debt crisis combine to make it impossible to predict the future and for businesses to plan.