Business key to Government spending plans

The business group’s submission to His Majesty’s Treasury for the Comprehensive Spending Review contains 49 recommendations on ways to grow the economy that the Government should support.

The top asks include:

Get Britain Thriving

• Invest in regional infrastructure by delivering transport projects and grid connectivity, improving rail capacity and electrifying key sections of the network.
• Ease the upfront cost pressure on firms through reform of business rates, with the aim of lowering the multiplier to 45p by the end of this Parliament.
• Provide long-term funding and practical support to help SME’s adopt Artificial Intelligence to boost productivity and growth.

• Invest in young people to bridge the gap between education and work.
• Support a healthier workforce and keep people in jobs by reducing the employer and employee tax on workplace health services.
• Involve more employers in skills planning by extending investment in Local Skills Improvement Plans and addressing gaps in training provision.

• Provide global leadership by investing in digital trade.
• Give SMEs better support to export and promote their products.
• Build upon the success of the International Investment Summit to develop a pipeline of overseas investors into the UK.

They also factored in research by the BCC’s Insights Unit, involving more than 5,000 businesses, on the key issues holding back growth.

Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:

“The decisions Government takes in its spending review will have a huge impact on the shape of our economy for years to come. This is an exam question it cannot afford to get wrong.

“But the answer is very simple. It’s business. While we are currently forecasting that the economy is set to grow in 2025, it is largely due to spending in the public sector.

“Without private sector investment to match it, that is not sustainable for the long-term. If the Government wants to get the strong and consistent economic growth it needs, it must look at three key areas to support firms.

“That means promoting consistent investment in people, in infrastructure and in trade. Government can’t assume business can continue to carry the load. It must give them the support they need to thrive, in an increasingly competitive global market, then the future can be bright.”