Mark Sinclair, director, Alphabet, said:


"Far from helping business, this VAT cut is guaranteed to garland companies in additional red tape and a major extra cost burden for administering the change for little customer benefit.

"Incurring these costs twice in 13 months will make matters worse.

"And where is the fiscal stimulus in deliberately raising fuel duty to ensure that the 2p per litre saving on VAT does not benefit firms and drivers?

"The decision to soften the impact of new VED rates is a welcome one but the overall impression is that these are hastily thought through measures that reveal a basic lack of understanding of business realities."