Responding to the Budget announcement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Richard Wright, executive director of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, said: “At first glance this seems a well-balanced budget and quite forward looking. Of course, the devil is often in the detail which will be published after the Budget speech and needs further interrogation.
“We agree with the Chancellor’s comments that if we are ‘truly to build an economy that is fit for the future we have to get all parts of the UK firing on all cylinders’.
“His backing for the Northern Powerhouse – with half the new £1.7 billion Transforming Cities Fund to be shared by the six areas with elected metro mayors – aims to give them ‘firepower’ to deliver on local priorities.
“It’s a reminder of just how much our city region is being penalised by not pushing forward on devolution and not having a mayor. The figure of how much we may have got in terms of investment is unknown – but our lack of progress means we will certainly lack that ‘firepower’ in terms of spending.
“He has recognised the need to invest in our wealth making capability in the future. We welcome the announcements on research and development and were reassured to see the Chancellor once again talking about learning and education – in particular in maths and sciences – after his focus on technical skills in the Spring Budget earlier this year.
“We need to generate a culture of lifelong learning so the strategic direction towards a National Retraining Scheme is likely to be a real boost for the construction sector in particular.
“The UK must address its skills shortage to ensure the workforce is equipped with the skills they need for the workplace of the future and keep the momentum going towards a technology-led environment.
“The Chancellor is realistic in assuming a drop in future Growth Rates but still predicts monies being available for the spending announcements despite the government’s borrowing coming down further. While we could perhaps question the ‘headroom’ the Chancellor feels he might have, he at least is acknowledging the need to invest that by offering ‘a little help’ to both families and business.
“As such we welcome the rise in the basic rate income tax threshold and are also pleased he has listened to the concerns of the British Chambers of Commerce about the costs of uprating business rates. We hope the switch from the retail prices index (RPI) to the consumer prices index (CPI) – and it being brought forward by two years – will save business the £2.3bn, he predicts.
“Overall, we feel the Chancellor has presented a Budget that addresses a lot of key areas and issues that should help get the economy into a better position to confront the challenges of Brexit.”
