Budget's 3.9% Minimum Wage Rise Worries Worcester Farm Owner

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A 3.9% rise in the minimum wage was confirmed by Chancellor John Healey in his Budget speech to the House of Commons on Wednesday. Healey said the package of measures was meant to ease cost-of-living pressures by giving people "breathing space".

Some small business owners are not convinced. Tristan Bennett of Bennetts Farms in Worcester told BBC Hereford and Worcester that the wage increase would be a "massive blow". He runs a dairy farm, a glamping site and a cafe.

"That's going to have a massive blow, especially for the cafe side and hospitality, and a lot of the young people," Bennett said. He added that the farm is trying to take on apprentices but finds it "so hard now to make it pay".

Rate relief and VAT

The Budget lifts the small business rate relief threshold from £12,000 to £18,000. Bennett said that would help the glamping side of his business "a little bit". What he missed was any relief or cut in VAT for businesses like his.

"They did it for the pubs," he said. He had hoped the rest of the hospitality industry would get help too.

Bennett called the package "a lot of tinkering and gimmicks" and said he was "disappointed there was not anything substantial". He said he was "nonplussed" by the Budget and questioned why Labour "have not done anything with such a big majority".

Rachel Buchanan, co-owner of Elderwood Books in Brampton Bryan, Herefordshire, said she is challenging the business rate valuation of her premises. Her current rate is more than £18,000. If the challenge succeeds, she said, her business would fall below that figure, which would be a "relief".

Buchanan said her area is prone to flooding and tourist numbers vary, so a quiet winter week still brings the same business rates bill. "Having a much lower, or preferably zero, bill would make a massive difference," she said.

A VAT cut, she said, was a "lovely dream" she had not expected. She described the Budget as "tinkering around the edges" and said that without big changes the shop must rely on customers coming through the door to pay its bills.

Source: BBC News