Autumn Statement: Newquay businesses give thumbs-down to plans

Mark Warren says the plan is too short-term and will not help businesses

Newquay's business leaders have reacted with disappointment to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's Autumn Statement.

The announcement included a cut in National Insurance rates and a rise for minimum wage.

There was also an increase to benefits and a boosted housing allowance for renters.

But Mark Warren, Newquay Business Improvement District (BID) manager, said it was a "short-term plan" when "long-term certainty" was needed.

Simon Thompson, who runs a cafe on Fore Street and employs eight people, echoed his concerns.

He said: "There was not one thing for a hospitality business.

Simon Thompson says the budget will not help him

"The government is blind to the fact of what businesses are facing at the moment so these changes in minimum wage and national insurance are fantastic for the people I employ.

"But they mean nothing to me as a businessman."

Nevertheless, a 23-year-old Newquay resident, who did not give her name, said the rise in national living wage would offset the cost of living and help her to move out of her mother's house.

"Getting that extra bit of money would be fantastic," she said.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Hunt acknowledged people were "feeling bruised" by the UK's financial troubles and said the government promised to reduce the tax burden on families when it could.

Mr Hunt said the National Insurance reduction would help 27 million people and "means someone on the average salary of £35,000 will save over £450 a year".