Six-point action plan
January 30th 2009 Britain’s manufacturers have called on government to introduce a six point plan to arrest the accelerating downturn on the back of revised figures showing the sector is set to be hit harder this year with any prospect of recovery delayed until mid 2010.
EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, made the call on the back of its Annual Manufacturing Report which shows that despite the significant improvement in the sector’s productivity performance in recent years, manufacturing will contract by 5% in 2009.
The EEF proposals are:
• A comprehensive loan guarantee scheme
• Minimise impact when Credit Insurance is withdrawn or reduced
• Short-time working
• Relieve the tax burden. Restore empty property relief and freeze business rates for 12 months and raise the Annual Investment Allowance
• Restrict new regulation
• Quantitative easing (With the official Bank Rate approaching zero and the effectiveness of future cuts in doubt, the Bank of England will need to take unconventional, yet targeted measures to increase the supply of money and credit in markets that need it the most. The EEF is urging it to proceed with extreme caution. More articles from EEF: | 
