Manufacturers urge government to table support package in face of ‘stormy waters’
The government has been urged to table a support package for the British manufacturers.
Industry body Make UK has warned that rising gas and oil prices and overall inflation will “shatter” expectations of a sustaining a pandemic recovery.
“We are clearly heading for very stormy waters in the face of eyewatering increases in energy costs and a difficult international environment,” chief executive Stephen Phipson said.
“We need a shock and awe suite of proposals to protect viable companies and jobs and we need them now. Manufacturers cannot afford to wait for a functioning government to get its feet under the table.”
More than 80 per cent of industry businesses have already reported transport disruption amid the worsening fuel crisis in the UK. While queues at the Dover Calais crossing have been a source of ‘catastrophic’ disruption.
A third of businesses at Make UK have said the National Insurance increase will also hit recruitment at a time of need.
The sector is rife with vacancies, as a shortage of STEM skills in the UK stretches across industries including pharmaceuticals and defence.