Businesses bear brunt of the big freeze
Jan 13 2011
The severe weather in the run-up to Christmas forced nearly one quarter, or 24 per cent, of businesses to close
Unpredictable weather combined with the increase in fuel duty will put ‘a strain on already hard-hit small firms’ during the next few weeks, according to John Walker, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
The severe weather in the run-up to Christmas forced nearly one quarter, or 24 per cent, of businesses to close, with 37 per cent of those shut down for at least five days as transport disruption, staff absences and limited access to premises made doing business challenging, reports the FSB in a poll of 1,300 members.
Heavy snowfall cost 58 per cent of small businesses up to £5,000, while a further 13 per cent lost more than £5,000 due to the icy conditions.
Meanwhile, tax increases on 4 January caused fuel duty to soar to a record high.
More than one third of small businesses believe that the rise in fuel duty will have a significant impact on their company, while 24 per cent say snow had a similar impact.
‘It is unacceptable that the government has u-turned on its manifesto promise to introduce a fuel duty stabiliser and it is vital we see this put in place immediately to remove some of the strain from small businesses so they can get on with the job at hand of creating jobs and helping to grow the economy,’ says Walker.
A fuel duty stabiliser would ensure a reduction in duty to match any increases in VAT revenues from higher pump prices.
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