Chancellor missed a trick in truly turning the dial with his Budget
With a general election on the horizon, it was possibly expected that the Chancellor would push for headline grabbing tax cuts and that’s exactly what he did at his recent budget, writes Shaun Gray.
But the general feeling across the Chamber business community is that the government could have done more to alleviate the huge cost pressures that firms continue to face on a daily basis and unlock growth. As a Chamber, we feel that he “missed a trick in truly turning the dial” on key areas impacting business.
There were however a number of measures that were cautiously welcomed by businesses including National Insurance contributions for employees being cut from 10 per cent to 8 per cent from April which will impact about 27 million workers, giving people savings of up to £450 a year. It was encouraging for the self-employed to see NI reductions too, dropping by 2 percentage points. The changes to the High Income Child Benefit Charge moving to a household-based system and thresholds rising will also help. Extending the terms of the loan recovery scheme will be welcomed by many businesses still grappling with debts racked up during the pandemic.
However, it was disappointing to see that meaningful reform of the business rates system and the reintroduction of the tax-free shopping policy were completely ignored by Mr Hunt as both measures are more likely to offer a timely boost to the hospitality and retail sectors than freezing alcohol duty.
As a Chamber we will be urging the Chancellor to prioritise the long-term growth of the economy in the coming months as firms continue to crave stability in order to plan effectively and move forward with investment plans.
Looking more locally, I wanted to share a couple of programmes of support that East Staffordshire Borough Council has available for businesses right now.
The ESBC Boosting Business Programme scheme is aimed at local entrepreneurs who need some financial support to make their business idea a reality. Existing businesses can apply for up to £10,000 with up to 60% match funding. For eligible start-up companies trading less than 12 months, a grant of £5,000 is available.
Businesses linked to the tourism sector in East Staffordshire can apply for a Tourism Development Grant to support new projects, developments, services or events, which will raise the profile of East Staffordshire and help attract more visitors. The maximum grant available is £3,000 with one application made per project and per organisation.
If you are interested in either of these grants visit East Staffordshire Borough Council or contact Head of Burton & District Chamber Richard Brooks via r.brooks@birmingham-chamber.com.
With the policy waters getting a little muddier as election seasons draw nearer, as a Chamber, we are really keen to support businesses as much as we can. To do this we want to really drill down and fully understand what businesses really need at the moment so we can use our connections within government to push for these priorities. During early summer we are planning to hold a roundtable discussion event focussed on exactly this. Please do get in touch with Richard to put your company’s name forward and he will add you to our guest list.
Moving away from policy and finance, I would like to say a huge well done to the team at Kids’ Village who have ambitious plans to build the UK’s first purpose-built holiday village just for sick children and their families to enjoy in nearby Wychnor. You can listen to a recent podcast about how they are turning their dream into reality and hear more about their journey by searching for Greater Birmingham Chamber CEO stories on your usual podcast app.
In terms of celebrating achievements, I must pay credit to all my colleagues at Ginho who recently won the Excellence in International Business category at the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce awards. It was highly competitive and so this recognition is also good for the profile of the Burton Chamber.
With so much to consider in the business world, if you’d like to chat with likeminded businesses, we have lots of events coming up across the region to do just that. Please send Richard (email address above) and he’ll be able to share the details. We also have our AGM coming up on 15th May between 12-2pm.
And finally, we are delighted to welcome Burton Rugby Club as members to the Burton & District Chamber of Commerce. They are joining over 100 member companies across Burton upon Trent and Uttoxeter and over 2500 member companies across the broader region.
If you would like more information on Burton & District Chamber of Commerce or to attend one of our networking events, please feel free to contact Richard Brooks on r.brooks@birmingham-Chambers.com.
Shaun Gray, president of Burton & District Chamber of Commerce and European managing director of Burton-based Ginho Group
This column first appeared in the Burton Mail
