Many businesses in Bath were hoping for a game-changing Budget to tackle the immense problems they face – but according to the regional branch of the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) this doesn’t feel like one.
FSB development manager for Bath, Bristol & South Gloucestershire, Sam Holliday, pictured, said: “There is no such thing as a perfect Budget or indeed one that can be properly fully assessed until we’ve all had the opportunity to delve into the detail and the full implications.
“However, the first indications are that this is a Budget which has made some genuine progress to support some business concerns but perhaps hasn’t gone quite as far as many local small businesses would have hoped as they struggle to battle against rising costs and future tax rises.”
Cuts and discounts to business rates – particularly for our hard-pressed hospitality businesses – were welcomed by the FSB as was the increased support for the skills and innovation sectors
“But with increasing inflation and tax rises on the horizon many businesses may be feeling this Budget has done little to help their bottom line at a time when it is under pressure like never before due the long reach of Covid,” Mr Holliday added.
Karen Kirkwood, pictured, head of tax in the South West office of accountancy group EY, said the Budget featured several positive outcomes that could benefit businesses operating in the South West, including supporting the ongoing ‘levelling-up’ agenda in the region along with measures to boost skills, encourage research and development spending by its science and tech firms and help for its key hospitality and leisure sectors.
“The announcement of £540m for the West of England to ‘level up’ urban transport in cities around England, part of the almost £7bn allocated, could help the region to develop and implement sustainable transport solutions, improve accessibility and social mobility in areas where metro mayors reside,” she said. 
“The region has a blue/green economy, so the £3bn for post-16 and adult education, including skills ‘bootcamps’, T-levels, and funding for special educational needs is welcome.”
However, she said the focus should also be on raising the bar for other areas of the economy to reduce the widening skills gap. Increased accessibility and availability of training would be critical if the region is to achieve its economic growth targets.
“In this Budget, the Chancellor recognised the need to invest in future talent in evolving sectors, in addition to more traditional sectors – due to the genuine concern about a widening skills gap across the UK and it potential impact on its attractiveness to investors and businesses.
“The focus on creating opportunities for traineeships and apprenticeships in vocational areas is critical, as is ensuring opportunities are feasible to all sizes of businesses, with apprenticeship uptake encouraged, supporting industries across the South West.”
The 12-month, 50% business rate discount for firms operating in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors would be a welcome relief to many that continue to struggle post-Covid, she said.
“The Chancellor’s announcement will benefit up to 90% of businesses operating in this sector.
“Beyond this, the Chancellor also removed next year’s inflationary increase and finally addressed a long-awaited anomaly that penalised improvements for greening buildings, something that has been on the ‘to-do list’ of at least the last three Chancellors.
“With revaluations moved to every three years, the Chancellor has improved the system. However, beyond the immediate cut, this still leaves retailers paying almost five times more in business rates than their share of the economy. The half price offer for the next year will help, but does not address the long-term issue.”
The region benefitted from a moderate rise in foreign inward investment projects from 30 to 32 last year, according to EY’s UK Attractiveness Survey published in June, and Ms Kirkwood said the Chancellor was keen to demonstrate to international investors that the UK and its regions are good places to do business, with a supportive enterprise culture and skilled people.
“Pre-Budget, the Chancellor pledged £1.4bn to encourage foreign investment into UK businesses and attract overseas talent. This was welcome news.
“The announcement in the Budget of an expansion of tax reliefs for domestic research and development (R&D) investment until April 2023 could help incentivise South West-based businesses in areas such as manufacturing, digital technology, health science and emerging technologies to invest more widely in R&D.”
But she said more work was needed to ensure R&D and growth capital was more evenly distributed around the UK.
“The government should consider the tools at its disposal to incentivise investment outside the capital, whether this is locally based innovation funds, or exemptions for businesses located in the UK’s Enterprise Zones, such as Bath and North East Somerset’s Somer Valley.”
