From ‘welcome signals’ to ‘nothing significant’, businesses and organisations across Staffordshire have voiced mixed opinions about yesterday’s Autumn Budget.
While news on funding for apprentices under the age of 25 has been welcomed, the reduction in salary sacrifice pensions has proved to be a disappointment and plans to lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure firms – paid for by higher levies on big properties – have split opinion.
Apprenticeships ambassador Steve Rushton described the fully funding of apprenticeships for under 25s in small and medium-sized businesses as a ‘huge positive step forward.’
The managing director of Training and Business Solutions said: “I’m genuinely excited about these changes. They have the potential to transform opportunities for young people while giving organisations the talent, skills, and workforce stability they need to thrive.”
In manufacturing, Pinaki Banerjee, CEO of PP Control & Automation, said the budget delivered some ‘welcome signals’ through long-term investment, sector-specific backing and commitments on energy and specifically, apprenticeships.
He added: “There are still significant concerns around productivity, with very little in there to encourage investment in automation and technology, apart from the encouraging news on funding for under 25 apprentices.”
Ceramics UK has welcomed the Government’s decision not to proceed with a move to a single rate of landfill tax but said ‘little else’ has been offered to UK ceramic manufacturers.
Its disappointments include ‘nothing significant’ to get the housing market moving and no mention on energy support which is critical to the sector.
A spokesperson added: “We are disappointed that measures to support the high street will mean the introduction of a higher business rates multiplier for factories with a rateable value of £500,000 or more.”
Titanic Brewery’s managing director Keith Bott said: “It is certainly welcome that the Chancellor has recognised the unfairness of the current business rates system which penalises traditional businesses and benefits the digital economy, we look forward to understanding the detail.
“It is disappointing that the Chancellor did not choose to support pubs further by reducing the duty rate on draught beer. Instead, she chose to increase all alcohol duties from February 1, which continues increasing the differential between the price of a drink in the safe supervised environment of the pub to guzzling cheap supermarket booze at home.”
Danny Hattersley, director of Danny Hattersley Financial Planning, expressed disappointment in the reduction in salary sacrifice pensions.
He said: “It is disappointing to see a benefit of paying in to a pension and protecting your long term future being taken away from some people. The pension industry needs stability not constant changes. But this will discourage people from paying in to the pension and increase the tax burden on SME businesses.
“Salary sacrifice arrangements also encourages businesses to contribute more into employees pension and that option will now be lost.”
Claire Howarth, director at DJH, said the pension salary sacrifice change is the ‘trickiest’ and questioned the timing of the EV mileage charge starting in 2028 ‘given our climate commitments.’
She added: “Put simply: businesses thrive on certainty and investment incentives. This Budget balances the books but leaves questions about whether it builds the foundations for the growth we actually need.”
Peter Turk, corporate lawyer at Knights, described the announcement that capital gains tax relief on disposals to Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) will be reduced from 100 per cent to 50 per cent as a ‘significant shift’ for succession planning for business owners.
He said: “Since they were introduced, EOTs have become an increasingly popular succession route for owner-managed businesses, offering stability for businesses and rewarding employees.
“While there is no doubt this change will affect their attractiveness, even at 50% the relief is still substantial compared to other exit strategies.
“Our advice has always been that EOTs only work when driven by a genuine belief in employee ownership as a platform for growth—not simply tax savings. We therefore expect EOTs will continue to be an attractive option for many sellers.”
