Damage from the Government’s Budget

Alessandro Georgiou AM moved and Susan Hall AM seconded the following motion:

“This Assembly wishes to express its concern regarding the impact of the Government’s Autumn Budget, including the decision to increase employer’s National Insurance contributions. Decisions taken by this Government have led to economic uncertainty, market turmoil, additional business costs and higher borrowing costs.

This Assembly regrets that costs have risen significantly for employers, and many have been forced to reduce their workforce as a result of the Budget, with Londoners bearing the brunt of redundancies and higher prices.

This Assembly notes the concerns of industry bodies such as the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry who found only 1 in 4 business leaders are confident that the Government will deliver growth.

This Assembly also notes recent job cuts announced by major retailers including: Sainsbury’s (3000 cuts), Tesco (400 cuts), Morrisons (200 cuts), WH Smith, River Island, Schuh, Currys and Next, as well as the comments made by Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s Chief Executive, who just days after the Budget announcement said, “There will be difficult decisions to take as a result”.

This Assembly calls on the Mayor to lobby the Chancellor to re-evaluate the current increase in employer’s National Insurance contributions and the additional £7bn in costs on employers arising from the Budget, to better support Londoners and their job security.”

Following debate and upon being put to the vote, the motion was agreed with 9 votes in favour and 7 against.