NBRA welcomes government support

The National Body Repair Association (NBRA) has welcomed the government’s announcement this week that it will put a cap on energy costs for businesses for the next six months.

Executive director Chris Weeks said: “We are pleased to see the government taking action to support business with the increasing energy costs prices. The announcement was much needed and it will give relief to our members that are facing utility bills that have risen by more than 250% in the past year.

“However, we are still extremely worried for our members, who will still need support after the six months’ timeframe.

“The nature of our work means that we are high users of electricity and gas. We estimate that the average bodyshop uses 160,000kWh/year of electricity and 400,000 kWh/year of gas, which equates to bills of £65k total in the year to June 2022.”

He continued: “Bodyshops play a vital role for the automotive industry and are crucial to our communities, therefore financial support from government is imperative to keep them in business.”

Meanwhile, Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chamber of Commerce, said: “The BCC welcomes this quick and positive intervention from government. It is clear the new Prime Minister has listened to firms and is providing a strong package of support for business, equivalent to the crucial support to consumers.

“We welcome the breadth of the offer to all non-domestic energy users with businesses, charities and public sector organisations all to be included.

“The price cap is a measure the BCC has previously called for. It will give businesses some financial certainty on the outlook for the next six months. It is crucial that there is a review at three months so there is time to plan for the end of the six-month period.”