Osborne was bound by the Eurozone

CHANCELLOR George Osborne provoked a range of opinions with his autumn budget statement but he did earn some sympathy from the chief executive of Applied Language Solutions in Delph.

Greenfield’s Gavin Wheeldon reckons the Chancellor had very little room for manoeuvre due to events beyond his control in the Eurozone.

Mr Wheeldon said: “Should that crisis deepen, all of the measures which have been announced become irrelevant. The proposed measures to support investment in small businesses, such as the waive on capital gains tax and the extension of the business rates-relief scheme are welcome, as is the proposed plan to make it easier for businesses to compete for government procurement contracts.

“The one per cent reduction in interest rates will definitely make a difference to small, growing companies but access to finance will not stop being a major problem however much the Government tries to convince us otherwise. Changes to employer red tape are obviously welcome but none of these changes will prevent businesses from being continually squeezed by high overheads.”