Minimum wage rise 'a massive blow' says farmer

A farmer has said the minimum wage increase announced in the Budget would be a "massive blow" for businesses like his.

The 3.9% rise was confirmed by Chancellor John Healey during his speech in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

It was among a raft of measures that he said were designed to help ease the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis by offering people "breathing space".

But Tristan Bennett, of Bennetts Farms in Worcester, said it seemed like "a lot of tinkering and gimmicks" and that he was "disappointed there was not anything substantial".

As well as a dairy farm, he also runs a glamping site and cafe, and said the minimum wage increase would hit them hard.

"That's going to have a massive blow, especially for the cafe side and hospitality, and a lot of the young people," he told BBC Hereford and Worcester.

"We are trying to take on apprentices on the farm but we're finding it so hard now to make it pay."

He said the increase in the small business rate relief threshold from £12,000 to £18,000 would help the glamping side of the business a "little bit".

But Bennett said the disappointment was the lack of relief or reduction in VAT for businesses like his.

"They did it for the pubs," he added. "We were hoping they would have been able to help the rest of the hospitality industry but sadly not."

He said he was "nonplussed" by the Budget and questioned why Labour "have not done anything with such a big majority".

"It just seems to be such a mess with things that need sorting out," Bennett said. "If you can't do it with that thumping majority, how else can you do it?

"I'm just completely despondent, really, about the political class and what they're failing to achieve."

Rachel Buchanan, co-owner of Elderwood Books in Brampton Bryan, Herefordshire, said she was currently challenging the business rate valuation of her premises.

She said her current rate was more than £18,000, but if her challenge was successful, her business would be below that figure, which would be a "relief".

"We're in an area subject to flooding. Tourists come or don't come, so if we have a quiet week in the winter, those business rates still have to be paid," she added.

"Having a much lower, or preferably zero, bill would make a massive difference."

She said a reduction in VAT was a "lovely dream" but she did not expect that to be included in the Budget, which she described as "tinkering around the edges".

"I didn't expect any big changes," she continued, "and here we are back to being reliant on ourselves and making sure we have customers coming through the door to pay those bills."

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