Chancellor 's Budget : What's missing so far - Chamber

Reducing the cost of doing business, aiding firms on their net zero journey and committing to HS2 in its entirety should be at the forefront of the Chancellor 's Autumn Budget, business leaders said today.

Rishi Sunak this week deliver his first Budget since national restrictions were eased and a number of key Covid-19 support schemes came to an end.

Wednesday 's Budget will also coincide with the first Government Spending Review in six years.

Details of the Mr Sunak 's spending plans were released over the weekend and included:

• A £6.9bn commitment towards train, tram, bus and cycle projects across the country - including around £1bn for the West Midlands for projects such as the Metro extension
• A £3bn investment in education and training - the National Skills Fund will be boosted by £550 million to quadruple the number of places on skills boot camps, which are available for adults of any age, covering areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and nuclear.
• A further £1.6 billion will provide up to 100,000 T-Levels students aged between 16 and 19 studying with additional classroom hours, along with another 24,000 traineeships being created.
• Apprenticeships funding will increase by £170 million, reaching £2.7 billion in 2024/25.
• An additional £5.9bn for NHS England which will be used to pay for physical infrastructure and equipment - not day-to-day spending
• The Spending Review is expected to provide nearly £1.8bn to turn Brownfield Land into 160,000 new homes in England
• The Chancellor is also expected to announce a £150m pot of funding for the British Business Bank to expand its Regional Angels Programme

Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce welcomed the commitment to improving local transport and the investment and skills.

However, the Chamber have outlined further measures for creating the conditions for business growth.

The Chamber is calling on the Chancellor to:

• Ensure that the Winter Plan is expanded to include a reassuring commitment to additional financial support for SMEs if additional or new Covid-19 related restrictions are introduced
• Introduce a freeze on all policy measures that increase business costs for the next three years with specific reference to Capital Gains Tax or reductions in pension relief
• A fundamental overhaul of the business rates system to include more frequent valuations, reducing the level of the multiplier, simplifying the appeals system but also removing disincentives to invest (particularly in the transition to net zero) by excluding plant and machinery from the valuation process
• Maintaining a long-term reduction in the rate of VAT beyond March 2022 in a bid to stimulate consumer demand particularly for firms in sectors such as hospitality and retail
• Creating an efficient tax system that will encourage business investment and the transition to net zero
• Expand the parameters of the super deduction tax scheme to facilitate investment in digital technology
• Boost venture capital tax reliefs for investors in order to drive business investment
• Address the imbalance in energy taxation costs between gas and electricity consumption
• Introduce a series of tax incentives that will encourage zero emission vehicle fleets and green capital investments
• Announce the release date of the Integrated Rail Plan with specific focus on delivering HS2 in full, delivering the Midlands Rail Hub and committing the necessary funding required to upgrade Birmingham International Station
• Offer greater clarity on the roll out of the Shared Prosperity Fund and how it will drive growth at the local level
• Restore the SME Brexit support fund until summer 2022 and increase the threshold from £2,000 to £4,000 to allow SMEs to access the support they need to adapt to the new trading arrangements

Henrietta Brealey (pictured), chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “There 's plenty of positive news so far in the leaked CSR and budget announcements - but more difficult decisions are expected later this week.

“The Chancellor 's commitments to improving local transport networks, investing in skills and retraining and expanding the availability of housing are very welcome.

“We would urge the Chancellor to continue to demonstrate his commitment to restoring business prosperity by not only reducing the cost of doing business but also making it easier for firms to invest in their people and embark on their own net zero journey and commit to the full HS2 network.

“Any funding cuts or tax increases must be handled with extreme caution to avoid damaging the promising, but in places still fragile, growth in business confidence and prospects seen in recent months. ”

Raj Kandola, head of policy at the GBCC, said: “While economic growth has proved better-than-expected over the past six months and the end of the job retention scheme does not appear to have led to a sharp increase in unemployment, this is a challenging time to be unveiling a comprehensive spending review. Concerns about the cost of living and doing business, while COVID cases rise loom large this winter.

“Given the recent announcements we 've seen in relation to increases in National Insurance and Corporation Tax, the last thing that businesses need right now are further tax hikes especially as so many are still suffering from massive overheads and unsustainable levels of debt.

“If the Government is serious in realising its levelling up ambitions, then we also need to see a commitment to delivering game changing infrastructure projects such as HS2 in their entirety given the transformative impact it will have across the country as a whole. We also need fundamental reform to the long outdated business rates system.

“As always, the Chamber will be on hand to provide a thorough overview of what the upcoming announcements will mean for your business - full details will be made available on our website on Wednesday. ”