Scott Bros

Bob Borthwick, a director of Stockton-based Scott Bros, which is involved in recycling, haulage, and plant hire, provided a muted welcome to the 5p reduction in a litre of fuel over the next 12 months.

He said: “While every little helps, it will not make a significant difference to transport-based businesses.

“From next month the government is ending the use of rebated red diesel, which is used primarily in the agricultural and freight sectors, and this alone will add £600,000 a year to our fuel bills. This, unfortunately, is a cost that we cannot absorb, and which will be passed down the supply chain.”

However, he supported the chancellor’s pledge to boost the level of innovation by reforming the research and development tax credit system.

Scott Bros has already invested in creating a laboratory and employing a scientist to create commercial products from recycled materials, and recently made a breakthrough in its quest to create a brick engineered from recycled waste clay.

Bob said: “Encouraging greater investment and innovation enables small businesses to diversify, become more competitive and, in our own case, make a greater contribution to the circular economy.”