Govt needs 'louder voice' on economic recovery

Date: 20th February 2009

The government needs a "louder voice" for explaining its economic recovery measures, it has been claimed.

According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), proposals designed to stimulate the economy - such as the VAT cut and small business loan securitisation - have left both companies and consumers "confused".

The CBI suggests that the government should follow the example of President Barack Obama's administration in the US, which set up a web portal explaining each initiative and its timeframe.

Director-general of the CBI, Richard Lambert, said: "The government appears to have been fighting a series of forest fires rather than building a platform for economic recovery.

"There's little sense of a coherent strategy about what's happened to date."

Mr Lambert concluded by criticising existing government initiatives for their unclear start-up dates and lack of "precision".

Earlier this week, the Liberal Democrats slammed the government's decision to temporarily reduce VAT as "pointless".