By Scott Wright
THE shadow of coronavirus understandably dominated large chunks of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s Budget statement yesterday. But a big priority for the UK Government once the crisis passes should be to provide details of promised investment in public infrastructure projects.
That was the immediate response from Chris Parr, finance director at GAP Group, after Mr Sunak had unveiled his maiden Budget.
GAP, run by brothers Douglas and Iain Anderson, is a plant and tool hire specialist with customers in sectors such as construction and utilities. It employs around 1,800 people at 140 depots, with 500 of its people based in Glasgow.
READ MORE: Record profits as Glasgow plant-hire firm GAP Group marks half-century
Mr Parr said it was “inevitable” Mr Sunak did not flesh out more details on specific infrastructure projects given the urgent need to halt the spread and combat the impact of coronavirus. But he added: “As soon as we can deal with coronavirus, let’s get back and concentrate on the thing and really get some momentum behind that, with tangible projects announced and tangible start dates so we can get spades in the ground and get people moving.”
Commenting on other aspects of the Budget, Mr Parr said he was not surprised the Treasury elected to maintain corporation tax at 19%, observing that the Bank of England’s decision to slash the base rate by 50 basis points to 0.25% is “probably a better short-term stimulus and support.” He said: “I suspect if there is something to be done on corporation tax, today is not the day to play that card. I think he is better keeping that one back.”
READ MORE: Glasgow plant, tool and equipment hire company GAP aims above £200m as its half-century nears
Mr Parr welcomed the freeze on fuel duty, but warned the removal of red diesel relief would affect the construction industry, though the measure has been deferred for two years.
While he was not surprised to see the lifetime limit on entrepreneurs’ relief scaled back from £10 million to £1m, Mr Parr said: “I think it’s a shame.
“I hope it doesn’t curtail entrepreneurial activity in the UK, because the economy is so dependent on that.”
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