Shropshire businesses need certainty to survive and thrive

Helen Morgan urged the Government to provide businesses with certainty to stop others from following the plight of a North Shropshire pub which has been forced to close.

The Lib Dem MP questioned the Business Secretary in the House of Commons on what plans the Government has to help businesses with increased energy costs after April 2023.

Existing support is only in place until next spring meaning that businesses are not able to accurately budget for the year ahead as they do not know whether or not they will get Government relief on expensive energy costs.

Helen raised the plight of the Horse and Jockey pub in Northwood, near Wem, which was forced to close last month due to soaring energy and food costs.

Helen has also been contacted by farmers, haulage and restaurant owners who are weighing up the future of their businesses due to the impact of rising fuel, food, fertiliser and energy costs. The spiralling cost of cooking oil is having a particularly sharp impact on takeaways.

Speaking in the Commons, Helen Morgan said: “The Horse and Jockey pub in Northwood in my constituency closed before the government's assistance package was announced.

“It's one of many businesses that will not be continuing beyond April. And there are many others that manage to remain open, who are struggling to secure bank facilities, struggling to reassure suppliers, struggling to reassure customers, because businesses need certainty to be able to thrive.

“So I'd like to understand from the minister what the government is going to do to provide some certainty for these critical businesses beyond the winter period?”