West Midlands firms call on Chancellor to provide budget for growth this week
Businesses in the West Midlands have called on the Chancellor to deliver a "growth budget" ahead of her autumn statement this week, according to a new survey.
New Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to deliver her first budget on October 30, and nearly half of all firms polled in early October as part of the Lloyds "Business Barometer" in the West Midlands say they want to see tax breaks that incentivise growth included in the statement.
The Chancellor has already ruled out changes to income tax or VAT, leading to speculation that employer based national insurance contributions could be set to rise alongside changes to capital gains tax and a potential rise of fuel duty to support measures to boost public services.
But when asked what areas they’d like to see prioritised to support their business, 44% of companies in the West Midlands said their top priority was ensuring a competitive tax system that incentivises growth. An additional 43% said they were hoping for support to address skills shortages and training needs, while 33% wanted more incentives for businesses to invest in new products, services and innovations.
To support the prosperity of the West Midlands’ economy more generally, firms most want the Chancellor to again prioritise the delivery of a competitive tax system (38%), improve access to housing (37%), and addressing skills shortages (32%).
"Firms across the region have said that they are hoping that their priority areas of a competitive tax system that incentivises growth and addressing skills shortages are supported in the Budget," said Dave Atkinson, Regional Director for the West Midlands at Lloyds.
"These priority areas are seen by businesses as crucial to help drive their operations. At Lloyds, we remain committed to supporting our customers to help to help them reach their growth aspirations."
More than half of businesses surveyed (55%) were hoping for support with waste reduction and recycling programmes to help them align with UK national targets of becoming net zero by 2050.
So far this year, the UK economy has performed slightly better than anticipated with Q2 growth of 0.6% following on from 0.7% in Q1. Inflation has also fallen to near the government's target of 2%.
The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide. This survey was conducted with 1,200 companies – including 98 businesses in the West Midlands
