AHEAD of this week’s emergency mini-budget, the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) has written to new chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng to urge the treasury to work with the sector to address concerns and help secure economic recovery.
The letter to Mr Kwarteng states: “We welcome the treasury’s renewed focus and ambition to grow the UK economy in what continue to be difficult times for our sector and the wider economy. The recent announcement around the energy price cap for business is a good start, but we now urge the treasury to provide clarity and further details on how this will affect businesses, as soon as possible.
“If the plant-hire sector and the wider construction industry is to help drive growth in the coming months, it is vital that our members can plan accordingly on what the government’s plans mean and how they will apply. Well publicised issues and cost pressures within the construction industry, alongside the threat of inflation and weak economic growth are the latest issues to affect our members in what has been a challenging two years.”
CPA chief executive Kevin Minton has urged Mr Kwarteng to commit to a number of actions, including that the extension to the energy price cap after six months for those sectors most vulnerable to rising prices must include the construction industry.
The CPA also wants the treasury to include temporarily keeping the Super Deduction Allowance (SDA) until the economy improves sufficiently. Additionally, the organisation said the annual investment allowance (AIA) should be set at a permanent level of £1.25 million, moving away from its current temporary limit of £1 million, and that future capital allowances should be flexible and adjusted in line with rising inflation.
In the letter to Mr Kwarteng, Kevin Minton states: “The last two years have been undoubtedly a testing time for the UK’s business community, with further testing times ahead. The treasury has played a vital and welcome role in supporting companies both during and after the pandemic. This should be applauded and welcomed. We are now in a very different economic cycle, with weaker than predicted growth, rising interest rates, the well documented cost-of-living problems affecting the wider economy and growing inflationary pressures.”
