Responding to the Chancellor's Budget speech, Jonathan Geldart,
Director General of the Institute of Directors, said:
"This Budget delivers a solid platform for many businesses to
relaunch as the economy reopens.
"The extension to the furlough scheme will provide a vital
cushion to support jobs as restrictions unwind and firms begin
the costly process of rescaling. Restart grants and ongoing
business rates relief give a cashflow boost to many firms that
will struggle to make full productive use of their properties as
restrictions linger. Widening income support for the
self-employed is a step forward, but the Chancellor missed a
trick by not providing grants for company directors who continue
to be left out in the cold."
"The Chancellor's efforts to combine life support for the economy
with measures to turbocharge growth is the right call. Vouchers
for SMEs to invest in technology, and provisions for management
training, will help address the UK's longstanding productivity
problems whilst also boosting businesses' ability to bounce back
from the pandemic. The recovery loan package will offer a helping
hand to many firms, but more needs to be done to catalyse equity
investment in our cash-starved start-ups and scale-ups.
"Retraining and rehiring will be uplifted by reforms to the
apprenticeship levy and further financial support for both
apprenticeships and traineeships. An improved visa route for the
high skilled will foster innovation, as will steps to review
R&D tax credits.
"The prospect of higher taxes will no doubt bite for many firms
that are still tending to wounded balance sheets. Delaying and
tiering the the corporation tax rise is a pragmatic approach,
though adjustments to the plan ???should remain on the table as a
clearer picture of the recovery emerges. Overall there is much
for businesses to get behind in this Budget, and the Treasury
???should remain prepared to ???extend support if the roadmap
goes off course, whilst building on its stimulus package today to
drive long-term growth well beyond our immediate recovery.
