Budget must boost competition in banking says EEF

The manufacturers' organisation EEF also urged government to proceed with caution on its proposed 'single pot' of public funding into which the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) could bid. It called for clear evidence that devolving control of funding delivers better value for money and that LEPs have the capacity to take on responsibilities before any money is put into the single pot. EEF chief executive Terry Scuoler said: "The Prime Minster has stated that there is no magic money tree to fund additional investment in our economy but there is still a lot it can achieve through better use of existing resources. It must also be sure that its proposed Single Pot would be planting seeds into the areas that will deliver stronger growth rather than leaking them into the stony ground of local bureaucracy. "The government must deliver on its commitment to increase investment in infrastructure, redirect spending from other areas to support it and ensure that its Infrastructure Guarantees are bringing forward private sector projects. It also needs to develop a plan for increasing competition in business banking which starts to address a longstanding weakness in our finance landscape." EEF believes that manufacturers' key Budget priorities are for the government to: * increase competition in SME business banking * Commit to long-term compensation for energy intensive industries from environmental taxes. * Reallocate all departmental underspends and receipts from any future sales of public assets to infrastructure spending. * Ensure that LEPs must demonstrate the capability to take on significant new responsibilities and control must be devolved gradually as LEPs prove their value in driving local growth. * Commit to keeping decisions on skills funding national rather than devolve them to LEPs.