Writing in the Herald, Dr Liz Cameron CBE, Chief Executive of SCC, has urged immediate government action to support businesses and households with the cost emergency, as businesses across Scotland face rising food, fuel, energy costs and rampant inflation.

Excerpt from the article:

Businesses and households across Scotland and the UK face severe hardship this winter, with rising food, fuel, energy costs and rampant inflation continuing to take a heavy toll on the purse strings.

There is no way to sugar-coat or underestimate the immense responsibility that will fall upon the shoulders of the next Prime Minister, who will take office in a week’s time, to take action.

The scale of the challenge at hand has been illustrated by last week’s announcement by Ofgem that the energy price cap will be hiked to an eyewatering £3,549 a year from October.

Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) have consistently heard from members of sleepless nights and fears they will not survive this winter due to looming increases in their uncapped energy bills.

Energy bills have already and will continue to fast outstrip the income of businesses and households, putting them into severe hardship and endangering our future prosperity.

Government inaction to deal with the threats of rising energy prices for businesses has contributed to a perfect storm of pressures for firms, squeezing profits and placing economic recovery into question, forcing firms to cut or hold back on investment, put projects on hold, and delay hiring if they can even find the right people.

We, along with the chamber of commerce network from across the UK, demand action now. Businesses are facing breaking point, putting jobs and livelihoods under great threat.

That is why we have published a series of action plans for both the Scottish and UK Government to implement immediate emergency support for businesses and consumers.

Read More