Treasury publishes stakeholder to Budget

Stakeholder reaction: Strong foundations, secure future: a Budget that delivers on the country's priorities

Supporting business

 Richard Walker, CEO, Iceland said:  “This is a much-needed shot in the arm for the high street. I've long argued for business rate reform, and at last we are seeing it.

“We'll continue to do everything we can to offer exceptional value to our hard-pressed customers as we approach Christmas - and this will certainly help us to do just that.”

 Shirine Khoury-Haq, Group CEO, Co-Op said: “Today's Budget provides the clarity and certainty that small shops and local communities have been waiting for. The Government's decision on business rates is a welcome and important step that will help protect jobs, strengthen local economies and support high streets across the country. “Co-op is stepping up alongside this commitment, facilitating over £1 billion of spend into the UK economy over the next year. This includes our biggest ever number of price reductions to help with the cost of living, continued investment in British farmers and suppliers, and a focus on keeping high streets vibrant and safe. “As a business owned by 7 million members, not shareholders, we measure success in the value we create for people and places. Backing Britain reflects our belief that responsible business must play its part in the country's recovery and future growth."

Simon Roberts, CEO, Sainsbury's said: “We all want to see inflation and the cost of living come down. We welcome the Government's decisions in the Budget on business rates and that industry concerns have been heard. We have been working tirelessly to manage rising costs and today's measures mean we can continue tackling inflation and providing great value, quality and service for our customers.”

Andrea Rossi, CEO, M&G said:  “The immediate market reaction today is welcome because the UK needs a period of long-term stability and certainty to create the conditions for growth. Removing stamp duty on newly London-listed shares and reforming cash ISAs are sensible steps as they start to send an important signal about the UK. Adopting bolder policy positions to improve the UK's competitiveness and investability to international markets has to be the priority.”

Supporting scale ups

Sarah Mackintosh, Director, Cleantech for UK said: “It is encouraging to see trust in British scale ups reflected in this Budget. Doubling eligibility for enterprise tax incentives and introducing UK listing relief will make it easier for cleantech scale ups to raise capital and attract talent here in the UK so they can scale at home rather than overseas.”

Irene Graham OBE, CEO, ScaleUp Institute said: "We very much welcome the Chancellor's recognition in today's budget of the contribution that scaleup companies make to the UK economy.

The package of measures the Chancellor has announced across tax, investment, including stamp duty, skills, R&D and procurement - that the ScaleUp Institute has long evidenced - are key levers to enable the UK to become not only the best place to start a business but to scale and stay here. 

The entrepreneurial prospectus includes tangible actions to address stubborn barriers to scaling up that will make a real difference across the country to the opportunities our scaling firms bring to our local devolved and national economies.  The role of Public Finance Institutions, including Innovate UK and the British Business Bank will be vital in delivery.

This is a budget for scaleups and those ambitious to scale and we will continue to work closely with the Government on the next stage of implementation.”

Energy

Martin Pibworth, Chief Executive, SSE plc said: "Today's budget is a positive step towards fairer energy bills while keeping the focus on building a cleaner power system. Moving legacy costs off bills and into general taxation means households will see the benefits of energy infrastructure investment sooner - and it supports the shift to electrification that's essential for unlocking the UK's economic potential.

"The destination is clear - lower, more stable bills in an electrified energy system. The challenge is balancing progress towards that goal with fairness and affordability in the near term. The Government has taken important steps today to ease pressure on bills, but the key now is to maintain investor confidence by building on the stable, robust policy and regulatory frameworks which have been established over many years. That is what will ultimately minimise the cost of the investments needed to secure energy and sustain lower bills for decades to come."

Thom Groot, CEO, The Electric Car Scheme said: “The Chancellor's commitment to delivering on the Warm Homes Plan should be applauded. At a time when public finances are tight, it is encouraging to see continued investment in measures that will lower bills for ordinary families across the UK. We look forward to continuing to work with the government in the coming weeks to make net zero the obvious choice for households across the UK.”

Two Child Benefit

Dan Paskins, Executive Director of UK Impact, Save the Children UK said: “The Chancellor is right to recognise that children have paid the price of a poorly thought-out policy for far too long. We warmly welcome this momentous change and we hope this is the start of a powerful legacy on tackling child poverty for the UK Government. Children deserve the best childhood, and should never be held back by the circumstances of their birth.”

Andrew Forsey, National Director, Feeding Britain said: “The two-child limit has, at last, been abolished. We have been making the case for this abolition over a number of years. It will free hundreds of thousands of children from the clutches of poverty and destitution. In doing so, it will significantly reduce their families' risk of relying on emergency food parcels from food banks”