James Leng, Managing Director of Pre-Met, a UK-owned precision engineering specialist based in Redditch, has said Labour is bad for business, arguing that the cost of making things in Redditch is rising faster than competitors'.
Energy costs and the BICS scheme
Leng says energy is the firm's biggest cost line and asks the Chancellor to "urgently widen the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) to all manufacturers…bring it forward and move policy levies off bills into general taxation."
He adds that new schemes are not needed; rather, the cost of production must stop rising faster than that of competitors.
Employment and National Insurance
As an employer, Leng says every job he creates costs tax before it costs a wage, and that must change. He argues there is "very little incentive to drive employment - instead of accelerating growth, the government has put the brakes on recruitment."
Raising the National Insurance Contributions threshold from £5,000 to £7,500, he says, would be seen as reversing the negative journey of travel and could help many SME owners reconsider future job decisions.
Industrial skills gap
Leng calls for a proper conversation about the industrial skills gap, which he says threatens everything being done in engineering and manufacturing.
He notes that the 'young starter' offer, which means apprenticeship training is fully funded for under 25s at non-levy paying employers, is working. However, he questions who will fund the retraining of older workers, such as an experienced press operator becoming a setter or a toolmaker.
