Commenting on the Budget Statement, Stephen Phipson, Chief
Executive of Make UK, said:
“Given the limited headroom the Chancellor had, his pursuit of
continued stability and reassurance is understandable. Within
this he was right to focus on significant measures to boost
investment and the welcome support for childcare. Companies will
be disappointed, however, that there is no extension of support
for energy with the rapidly approaching cliff edge of the current
scheme ending, while the planned changes to R&D tax credits
remain and will be unwelcome for SMEs in particular as they are
implemented in April.
“Looking forward, given the bigger picture at play and, in the
face of the firepower that the US and EU are bringing to bear
with their huge incentive programmes to bolster onshore
manufacturing, the UK needs transformational reforms that look to
the long term, with the aim of equipping businesses and
individuals for the scale and pace of the challenge we are
facing.”
“This can only be done through building on the Chancellors’ five
key areas of growth with a radical, ambitious modern industrial
strategy and policy agenda that has science, technology and
innovation at its heart. Industry will welcome his reference to
‘Industrial Strategy’ and stands ready to work with and, support
him, to reshape our economy and boost growth.”
On Full Expensing, James Brougham, Senior Economist
said:
“Industry will welcome this boost to investment which is key to
unlocking improved productivity for both the sector and the wider
economy. Nevertheless, investment intentions have been dwindling
over the past year as businesses have been forced to take a
shorter-term view with their capital in the face of an onslaught
of costs, despite thee significantly more generous,
super-deduction scheme.
“To see the Government’s ambitions of growing investment, the
focus must now be placed on removing wider challenges so industry
is afforded the privilege of taking a longer-term view to
investment. While the implementation of this new policy for three
years compared to the two of the super-deduction allows more time
for considered investment planning, a longer or permanent
implementation would better fit the longer investment cycles of
the sector. Concerns also remain for those smaller businesses
with less access to capital, as it is those companies who are
more likely to lease or buy second-hand plant & machinery, of
which both methods of capital investment are excluded from the
announced scheme’s benefit.”
Commenting on R&D changes, Verity Davidge, Director
of Policy, said:
“While the Chancellor set out big and ambitious plans for AI and
quantum, the focus on diffusion and adoption of digital adoption
overall is lacking. R&D tax credit policy keeps chopping and
changing and many businesses will struggle to keep up. Large
swathes of small and medium sized manufacturers will find
themselves out of pocket when the new changes come in in April
this year and we were looking to the Chancellor to delay, or even
better, reverse these changes to boost R&D across all of
manufacturing.”
Commenting on Energy Security and Costs, Brigitte
Amoruso, Energy & Climate Change Adviser, said:
“The Chancellor’s focus on energy security with the extension of
Climate Change Agreements, and prioritising of nuclear and SMRs
is welcome. However, this does little to tackle the real and
immediate threat manufacturers face with rocketing energy bills.
While the current energy support scheme has reduced bills
overall, the incoming scheme is unlikely to be triggered, leaving
many companies on a cliff edge at the end of the month. We now
need to see further action from Government to turbo-charge
industrial energy efficiency with competitive tax incentives and
reliefs to invest in green technologies.”
On Labour Market Changes, Jamie Cater, Senior Employment
Policy Manager, said:
“There is much which will begin to address the current labour
challenge in manufacturing, but there remains much more to do.
While manufacturers will benefit from improved skills training
options for people who have become economically inactive,
government support for upskilling and retraining remains
piecemeal, and take-up of existing pathways is still low. It is
important that government works with industry to make sure that
workers of all ages can access the training they need, and that
employers and employees alike have a clear understanding of what
is available to them.
“Manufacturers will also welcome the Chancellor’s support for
improving the accessibility and affordability of childcare. As
they continue to make strides in becoming more inclusive
employers, and seek to enable more parents, grandparents and
others with caring responsibilities to come back to work, this
additional support from government is a step in the right
direction.”
