Mixed manufacturing reaction to PBS

Steve Radley, director of policy and the manufacturers' organisation EEF said the Statement should have been about how the structural shortfall in the public finances was going to be tackled. Instead it went for the easy targets and fudged the tough decisions necessary to achieve this. "We also needed to see tangible action to begin re-balancing our economy. However there were only limited measures which are unlikely to drive broad-based growth," he went on. At the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI), director Sue Robinson was disappointed there had been no announcement extending the car scrappage scheme and that the reversion of the VAT rate to 17.5% on 1 January would impact car sales. However, she did welcome the decision for electric cars to be exempt from company car tax for five years and the extension of a 60% vehicle allowance for electric vans. David Raistrick, UK manufacturing industry leader at Deloitte, commented that UK boiler manufacturers would welcome the new household boiler scrappage scheme whereby a subsidy will be available for householders replacing old central heating boilers. "The UK is a major manufacturer and designer of gas boilers and is the largest gas boiler market in Europe," he said. "The car scrappage scheme has been a great success for stimulating the automotive sector, and if this scheme follows the same model we should see a boost to manufacturers."