Pictured above: John Truslove, Business Property Consultant

Manufacturers should not have to pay business rates, Midlands commercial property expert John Truslove has urged.

He said the Government needed to take action in order to boost the vitally important sector and get Britain working again.

Mr Truslove charged: "I believe all genuine UK manufacturers should pay nothing. I am not talking about people who simply assemble stuff brought in from abroad - companies that truly make things in this country.

 "Indeed, this concession might well pay for itself through employees National Insurance, income tax and the spending ability subsequently generated."

Redditch-based Mr Truslove is concerned that manufacturing, though showing an improvement in recent months, still has a long way to go to bounce back.

And he points out that, of our competitors, China has a massive pool of cheap labour while countries like France and the US somehow seem to find ways of helping their industry and business.

Why, he asks, cannot our Government provide a similar edge?

He said: "If we are going to get back on our feet economically then we need to produce as much as possible, both for the home and export markets.

"Manufacturing needs to create jobs which, given our high unemployment figures, will provide work. Jobs will give the unemployed their self-respect back. It is vital for social cohesion; otherwise we could have serious problems.

"We cannot exist on call centres and mobile phone shops."

For more information on John Truslove, view the website here: www.johntruslove.com