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Supply chain issues, Omicron drag down UK as CBI cuts growth prediction

Supply chain issues, Omicron drag down UK as CBI cuts growth prediction
Shoppers, some wearing face-masks, walk along Oxford Street in central London on December 4, 2021, as compulsory mask wearing in shops has been reintroduced in England as fears rise over the Omicron variant of Covid-19. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP) via Getty Images)
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Pooja Shrivastava
By Pooja ShrivastavaDec 06, 2021
Pooja Shrivastava
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Economic forecasters have slashed expectations for Britain’s recovery from earlier forecasts, putting a picture of gloom over UK’s growth.

Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in June had said that it expected the economy to expand by 8.2 per cent. It now has cut that prediction to 6.9 per cent and revised down its 2022 forecast from 6.9 per cen to 5.1 per cent.

The more pessimistic outlook has been attributed to supply chain disruption as being one of the major factors that seems to be dragging the economy.

“The UK’s new year resolution must be to give firms the confidence to go for growth,” CBI’s director general, Tony Danker, said.

“We should be raising our sights on the economy’s potential and seizing the moment. I know from speaking with firms of all sizes that they have an ambitious investment mindset and are anxious to implement growth plans.

“But while intentions have thawed, we’re coming up to a cliff edge in 2023.”

With global supply chain problems hitting the economy, the CBI says the government must take fresh action to a steep fall in business investment in 2023, when temporary measures to help business are withdrawn.

With exports still weak, household spending would remain the key driver of the economy, the employers’ organisation said, generating 90 per cent of growth in 2022, and two-thirds of gross domestic product in 2023.

Meanwhile, accounting firm KPMG has issued an even gloomier prediction in its recent report, saying it expects growth to reach 4.2 per cent next year at best. It has also claimed that increased restrictions imposed by the government to stop the spread of the variant will further hamper the recovery.

Both KPMG and the CBI also raised concerns about a lack of business investment, which they cited as an obstacle to a sustained recovery in the longer term.

cbicbi growth ratekpmgsupply chain crisissupply chain crisis in ukuk growth rate

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Indies: It’s criminal police and government turn blind eye to shoplifting

Independent retailers are demanding tougher police action, more bobbies on the beat and harsher punishments as shoplifting levels reach an all-time high, a new survey reveals.

A whopping ninety-one per cent of respondents to a survey conducted by the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) called for more police patrols on streets, while a similar number - 90 per cent - said that shoplifters should be handed harsher sentences.

Seven out of 10 respondents (72 per cent) said their stores had experienced shoplifting, break ins and damage to property, while they and their staff had been physically or verbally threatened.

Just under half of respondents (47 per cent) said they and their employees had been threatened or had suffered abuse and violence when asking for proof of age ahead of selling an age-restricted product.

Forty-four per cent reported that they and their staff had faced abuse or violence because they had refused to make a proxy sale – selling an age restricted product to a customer buying for a minor.

The results of the Fed’s survey came as new figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed that shoplifting was at a record high, with almost half a million offences recorded last year.

According to the ONS, 469,788 offences were logged by forces in the year to June 2024 – a 29 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.

The ONS added that this figure was the highest since records began – in March 2003.

“Inadequate responses from the police and a slap on the wrist for offenders means that shoplifting is soaring, and offenders are becoming more aggressive and brazen,” said Fed National President Mo Razzaq.

“From the responses we received, it is clear that real action is needed by police, by courts and by the government to stem the overwhelming tide of crime against retailers and their staff. Everyone deserves to feel safe at work and for their businesses to be protected against criminals.

“Fed members are also sending a clear message that one of the catalysts for verbal and physical abuse in stores is asking for proof of age before selling an age restricted product. If the government presses ahead with its plans to phase out smoking and vaping through a progressive ban to gradually end the sale of tobacco products across the country, independent retailers will be subject to even greater levels of violence, abuse and theft.”

Calling for action from the government and not just words, Mr Razzaq continued: “Without effective deterrent, criminals and opportunistic members of the public will continue to commit crimes.”

According to Ministry of Justice statistics, during the year to March 2024, 431 fines were handed out for retail theft under £100, while Home Office statistics for the same period show that 2,252 cautions were accepted for shoplifting.