A Coventry business leader has warned that hundreds of jobs and businesses in the region will be placed in jeopardy with the introduction of the new Climate Change Levy in April.

Peter Starley, chairman of the Bayton Road Group Ltd, fears that the levy - an energy tax on all sectors of UK industry - will have a devastating impact.

He said:

"I dread to think what affect it will have on companies in our area, particularly the small light engineering firms.

"There are some who do not use gas, but they all do use electricity, and this new levy could add thousands of pounds to their energy bills.

"To make matters worse, many businesses are totally unaware of the coming of this levy.”

The levy has been brought in to force businesses to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses as part of the Government's commitment at the Kyoto Conference to combat the rate of global warming.

Mr Starley, managing director of Exhall Plating Ltd, said the levy will add £8,000 annually to his company’s energy bill - even though they already have an environmental management scheme in place.

Martin Taylor, of the Engineering Employers Federation, has warned of the threat to UK engineering in a letter to Chancellor Gordon Brown.

He wrote:

"Where left unchanged, the levy could jeopardise 100,000 jobs within UK engineering alone.”

Meanwhile, Warwickshire County Council are to run a seminar at The Hilton, Warwick, on 21 February, to brief company representatives on the levy.

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