Essex business call for better support as part of Autumn budget
Ahead of today's budget announcement, businesses in Essex say the Government is not providing them enough support.
A business leader in Essex says the Government does not realise the important role they play in keeping the economy ticking.
David Burch is the director of policy for Essex Chamber of Commerce: "I think there is a feeling that they take the business community for granted quite a lot. They think that we will always be here providing employment opportunities and providing tax revenue to the treasury.
"But without the right policies, that could very easily disappear."
The chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to present his second budget today. It comes at a time when costs of running a businesses have been consistently rising, sparked by staff shortages, soaring energy prices, supply chain bottlenecks and a future increase in contributions to national income.
Mr Burch says: "There's a lot of things stacking up against businesses at the moment. A lot of the proposed solutions that are being mooted for the problems we face are too simplistic.
"We want the Government to recognise them and pass business friendly policies in the short-term and ideally, for the long-term as well."
The most urgent demand from businesses in the build up to today's announcements, has been the need to overhaul business rates levied on various establishments.
Mr. Burch says "We hear a lot, for example, about the future of high streets and the fact that were losing shops from them. Business rates have played a large role in that".
He also adds that more needs to be done to improve infrastructure and ensure upskilling of both students entering the work schemes and for those who want to switch careers later in life.
The budget will also provide the chancellor to expand on their levelling up agenda.
"I think businesses here also want to know what levelling up means. There is a perception that in Essex, we're wealthy and that we don't need any support. But virtually every town in Essex has deprived areas that need help."
He hopes that as the country levels up, counties like Essex which are not seen traditionally as being deprived, lose out on investment.