“George Osborne needed to deliver an Autumn Statement that provided a credible plan for business growth while maintaining the UK’s fiscal credibility. Under tough circumstances, he has managed to propose a number of measures that will be welcomed by business.

“In particular, companies will welcome the Chancellor’s renewed commitments to reform employment law and simplify the planning system. Businesses will support the aim of credit easing, but will be watching carefully to ensure that viable small- and medium-sized companies can access the finance they need to grow.

“Ahead of the Autumn Statement, we urged the Chancellor to invest further in infrastructure, give more support for exporters, and introduce measures to help businesses invest with confidence. He has responded in part to each of these major concerns.

“The biggest challenges to UK businesses remain global demand and economic uncertainty. Firms will give the Chancellor credit for pulling the levers under his control, but will remain concerned about the wider economic environment.”

Commenting on the OBR forecast, David Kern, Chief Economist at the BCC, said:

“As expected, the OBR forecasts for both growth and borrowing are much worse than in the March Budget, but we believe they were too optimistic from the start. The situation has deteriorated in recent months due to events in the eurozone, the squeeze on incomes, and the impact of the austerity plan.

“The OBR’s new growth forecasts are disappointing, but they confirm our judgement that the UK will avoid recession at a time when the eurozone, our largest trading partner, is likely to move into negative territory. With the OBR predicting an unemployment rate of 8.7 percent next year, and given the high number of job losses expected in the public sector, it is crucial that the government does everything possible to help the private sector create jobs. Although we believe the new borrowing forecasts are slightly pessimistic, we understand the OBR’s caution. The positive steps announced in the Autumn Statement should be implemented as quickly as possible, it is now time to translate words into action.”

Commenting further on specific measures introduced in the Autumn Statement, John Longworth, BCC Director General, said:

On credit easing: