Business leaders have been sharing their views on what they hope to see in Chancellor John Healey’s Autumn Budget
Economic stability, relief from soaring cost pressures and support for workforce development, skills and young people are on the Budget wish lists of businesses across the West Midlands.
The Black Country Chamber of Commerce, which represents hundreds of businesses in Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley and Sandwell, wants Wednesday’s Autumn Budget to give local firms the confidence and breathing space they need to invest, create jobs and grow.
Rachael Wright, the Chamber’s new finance director, said Chancellor John Healey’s first Budget on October 28 offers a chance to show the business community it has the backing it needs to drive growth in the Black Country and beyond.
Rachael said: “Black Country businesses have huge ambition. They want to invest in new equipment, take on more staff and win new customers. But they can’t do that when they are still trying to tackle the impact of the tax hikes of the last Budget.
“When businesses have breathing space, they create jobs, invest in their people and grow which means the whole local economy reaps the benefits.
“We want to see a cut in employer National Insurance contributions for under-25s to help more young people into work, targeted measures to ease energy and business rate pressures and locally delivered export support for small firms.”
The Chamber said helping young people into work and helping more small firms to trade overseas must be at the heart of the Budget, which sets out the government’s plans for taxation, public spending and the wider economy.
“Anything that makes it easier for employers to take on young people and develop their skills is an investment in the future of this region,” said Rachael.
“There are also many firms here with products and services the world wants to buy. With the right support, more of them could be exporting, bringing new prosperity and new jobs into the Black Country.”
The boss of Midlands law firm FBC Manby Bowdler has put tackling rising costs at the top of his wish list.
Neil Lloyd, CEO of FBC Manby Bowdler and chairman of the Training and Manufacturing Group, said: “The Chancellor should include measures that ease the pressure of soaring energy costs and help employers train and recruit the workforce they need.
“Business energy costs remain some 75 per cent higher than their pre-crisis levels in 2021, leaving many firms, particularly manufacturers, struggling to compete.
“Companies across the West Midlands have absorbed huge increases in their costs over the past few years and the Government needs to be proactive and address these challenges head on if UK firms are going to remain competitive on the world stage.
“Manufacturing is the sector which will do most to drive growth, but it cannot do that if it cannot afford to power up its machinery and keep the lights on.”
Wolverhampton-based developer SH Partnerships wants to see investment in construction skills and apprenticeships to help meet housing and infrastructure targets.
Chris Timmins, managing director of SH Partnerships which works with councils and housing providers across Shropshire, Staffordshire and the wider Midlands to build affordable homes, said the Budget should include measures which boost construction skills and support employers to take on young people.
He said: “The Government has committed £39 billion over 10 years to its Social and Affordable Homes Programme, and the first £9.58 billion was allocated in August to the Midlands region. This is a chance for the Chancellor to match that with supporting the development of a workforce with the skills to deliver it.
“When an affordable scheme starts on site, it creates work for groundworkers, bricklayers, joiners and the supply chain.
“A live site is also where the next generation of the construction workforce gets its start, through apprenticeships and placements that lead into skilled trades.
“There are young people across the Midlands who aren’t in work or training and could build a career in construction. With the right support for employers, we can deliver and we can bring them on site and give them a trade for life.”
Award-winning entrepreneur Manny Athwal, founder of the Wolverhampton and Birmingham based School of Coding & AI, has said the Autumn Budget is “an opportunity to address one of the biggest challenges facing British businesses – the shortage of digital and AI skills.
CEO Manny, who founded the company from his home 10 years ago and has grown it into a multi-million pound, multinational business partnering with universities across the UK, said: “The reports coming out of Number 11 are promising, but backing entrepreneurs means more than cutting red tape. It means creating the conditions for businesses to invest, innovate and grow in the UK, rather than feeling they have to look elsewhere to fulfil their ambitions.
“As a founder, I know that building a business takes persistence, confidence and ambition. But these things alone aren’t enough. Businesses need a stable economic environment, a tax system that encourages investment and a government that recognises the cost pressures they face.”
Manny, from Bridgnorth, Shropshire, who was named on the UK’s 50 most ambitious business leaders by LDC, added: “The Budget is an opportunity to address one of the biggest challenges facing British businesses: the shortage of digital and AI skills. We cannot expect companies to become more productive, competitive and innovative if the workforce doesn’t have the skills to make the most of these technologies.
“AI is already changing how businesses operate. The question is whether the UK will develop the talent to lead that change or risk falling behind. Supporting entrepreneurs must go hand in hand with investing in the skills that will drive the next generation of British businesses.”
Rising employment costs top business concerns as the Budget looms, according to accountancy and professional services firm DJH, which has offices in Walsall and Halesowen.
More than half of UK companies (51 per cent) are concerned about yet another ‘jobs’ hammer blow, a Budget Business Confidence Report by DJH said.
Seven in 10 described their business mood as cautious (48 per cent) or anxious (23 per cent) and said this has had a direct impact on their ability to make positive decisions around new capital investment and on recruitment.
“After the last 18 months, it is little surprise that all eyes will be on the new Chancellor as he sets the conditions for what economic performance can look like going forward,” said Scott Heath, CEO of DJH – which employs nearly 1,000 people at 26 offices across the country.
“Owners have every right to be cautious, with global conflicts, rising energy costs at home and talk of even more tax increases creating an ‘uncertain’ landscape. It’s safe to say from the figures that businesses do not need further uncertainty.”
He added: “Our Autumn Budget Business Confidence Report was designed to take the pulse of companies across the UK, highlighting their hopes and fears and how decisions made by the government now will influence activity in the short-term.
“The message is clear…management teams are fearing more pain is coming their way.”
DJH’s Budget Business Confidence Report was carried out between September 10 and October 20 and featured responses from 82 companies.
Meanwhile, Dudley is set for a housing market boom if Chancellor John Healey’s Budget gives buyers and sellers the reassurance needed to unleash pent-up demand in the Black Country town, legal firm Ansons Law said.
The law firm said it has seen people putting moves on hold until the Budget this Wednesday, and more recently rising mortgage lending rates have added to housing market headwinds.
Jonathan Taylor, head of property for Ansons Law, who used to work as an estate agent before qualifying as a solicitor, said: “The recent rise in mortgage lending rates have put even more pressure on the Chancellor to jump-start the property market.
“I believe the fundamentals – including pent-up demand, a finite volume of housing stock and a house prices increasing at twice the rate of rest of the country – remain in place for a pre-Christmas property boom in Dudley provided John Healey gives the clarity that buyers and sellers need.
“In recent months we have seen a lot of would-be buyers and sellers who are ready to move but have chosen to wait until after the Budget before they commit. Nobody wants to exchange contracts only to find the ground has shifted on property taxes a few weeks later. This caution feeds on itself. Sellers hold back going to market, buyers hold back making offers and chains take much longer to form.
“Hopefully all those shackles come off this week and we’ll see a lot of activity in Dudley as pent-up demand is unleashed.”
Chancellor John Healey will set out his Autumn Budget in the Commons at around 12.30pm on Wednesday.