PRESS RELEASE: Ceramics leaders welcome Chancellor’s summer statement

The British Ceramic Confederation has welcomed the Chancellor’s summer statement aimed at helping the economy recover from the impacts of coronavirus.The announcement of the government’s plans to offer a stamp duty holiday for home buyers on the first £500k are particularly welcome and should provide a much-needed boost to house-builders and construction products suppliers, including UK manufacturers of bricks, clay roof and ceramic wall tiles, clay drainage pipes and sanitaryware.Dr Laura Cohen, Chief Executive of the British Ceramic Confederation, said, “The Chancellor’s announcements are welcome and will provide much-needed confidence among our members as they look to recover from the coronavirus crisis.Dr Cohen added, “The stimulus to the housing market is good news, however, it will be crucial that UK ceramic manufactured products rather than imports contribute to building our durable, sustainable homes.”In addition, the temporary reduction in VAT from 20% to 5% for food and accommodation in the hospitality and tourism sectors and the "Eat Out to Help Out" discount will be welcomed by British ceramic cateringware manufacturers, who have seen demand for their high-quality tableware drop dramatically during coronavirus closures.Described as a ‘plan for jobs’, the Chancellor also confirmed a financial incentive for employers to bring employees back from furlough with a £1,000 bonus paid per employee, along with cash incentives for offering quality traineeships and apprenticeships for young people. Under a new ‘kick-start’ scheme, a government fund will subsidise six-month work placements for people on Universal Credit aged between 16 and 24.Dr Cohen said, “The additional funding for the kickstart scheme, in addition to traineeships and apprenticeships, provide a very welcome opportunity for manufacturing to build talent pipelines and address future skills shortages by supporting the development of high calibre young people keen to work in our industry. The incentive to bring back employees from furlough will also help retain valued skilled staff. However, we need the government to ensure our British manufacturers are able to not only survive but thrive, so they can provide these jobs in the long-term.”She added, “The next few months will be critical for our sector. To really help our industry we need the government to agree and ratify a trade deal with the EU by the end of the year and be unashamedly supportive of British manufacturing in public procurement.”---ENDS---For further information please contact Laura Cohen, Chief Executive, British Ceramic Confederation, Federation House, Station Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2SA.Tel:  01782 572845 M: 07827 358613E-mail:  laurac@ceramfed.co.uk | www.ceramfed.co.ukNotes to editorsThe British Ceramic Confederation is the trade association for the UK ceramic manufacturing industry, representing the common and collective interests of all sectors of the industry. Its member companies cover the full spectrum of ceramic manufacturing, including the supply of materials, and comprise over 90% of the industry’s manufacturing capacity.