World-leading UK aviation specialist Aviramp gave the Budget a mixed reaction.
Chief executive and company founder Graham Corfield said he welcomed talk of new investment in green initiatives and the publication of a roadmap setting out the tax policies businesses can expect from Labour over the current term of government.
But he said that making it more expensive for businesses to employ people by putting up National Insurance payments for employers was the wrong policy for a Government which claimed to be promoting growth.
“The National Insurance hike for employers not only breaks the spirit of the promise made in the Labour Party’s election manifesto, it undermines the government’s claim to be driving growth.
“Earlier this month we had once-in-a-generation employment law changes which make it harder and more expensive to recruit new people, now we are saddled with extra cost for employing staff. It’s hard to see how both are compatible with rewarding success and promoting growth.
“I do like the idea that the government has laid out its broad tax plans for the next five years, but as this Budget has shown, there is a world of difference between the promises politicians make and the actions they take.
“Having said that, I really do welcome the focus on promoting green initiatives. We’ve been doing that at Aviramp for years with our solar powered ramps and remain wholeheartedly committed to driving down emissions and creating a sustainable future.”
Telford-based Aviramp – a current holder of the Queen’s Award for International Trade which has seen its orders rise 30 per cent over the last year – is the global leader in manufacturing step-free, non-slip boarding ramps.
The ramps are now in use at airports across the world and offer a safe, dignified alternative to stairs and separate ambulifts for wheelchair users and those passengers with reduced mobility.
The low-angled ramps are fitted with a unique non-slip surface to improve safety for all passengers and help improve turnaround times and efficiency for airlines, airports and ground handlers.