EASIER access to finance and income tax below 50% are top of the wish list for Yorkshire’s private and family-owned businesses this Christmas, it has emerged.

A survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers said firms had welcomed measures in the Autumn Statement to scrap a rise in fuel duty, introduce new infrastructure improvements and boost employment.

But Katherine Bullock, partner and private business expert at PwC in Yorkshire, said many businesses in the region also want to see a return in consumer confidence, opportunities for exporting ideas to become a reality, less red tape and administration, a lasting solution to the eurozone crisis and reduced inflation.