Spending review: Hampshire small businesses hoping confidence is restored
It comes as the latest spending review is set to be revealed by the Government this afternoon
Last updated 11th Jun 2025
This afternoon Rachel Reeves will announce the new Government spending review. She has acknowledged that not enough people are feeling the progress Labour has made and said her spending review will be about "making working people better off".
Ross McNally, the Executive Chair and Chief Executive at Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, says that small business have lost confidence in the past year and he hopes that confidence will be restored later today:
"Well, there's no doubt that over the past few months, business confidence has been hit. And so I think the biggest call is to provide any kind of support that is possible for businesses, particularly SMEs, to try and restore some of that business confidence and to help them to grow as businesses."
"So fundamentally, I would say, skills is a very key piece in terms of, additional training, getting skills aligned to the growth in business, particularly around digital, around AI, making better use of that, and also ensuring that that drives the business through to greater productivity and encourages greater investment."
"So we've seen government expenditure in the region, but we've also seen a big knock as far as businesses are concerned in terms of the cost of employment. And that comes through many thing, not just the NIC costs, but also the changes to the law, the minimum wage increases.
"All of this is affecting SMEs in particular. And so we see that growth we're in accordance with the with the government on this. Growth is absolutely essential, but it comes from business investment."
"It's a partnership with government, and we need to see that business investment flow through, and that will only happen through building confidence".
"You know, this is a country that is built on our ability to export globally. And, obviously, Hampshire and the Central South generally is the gateway for to The UK and the gateway to global trading. So I would like to see anything that encourages businesses to invest in their production so that they can sell around the globe. But that does mean the government can help us to open doors, open markets, and build success in those areas."
The Chancellor is expected to announce funding increases for the NHS, schools and defence along with a number of infrastructure projects on Wednesday, as she shares out some £113 billion freed up by looser borrowing rules.
But other areas could face cuts as she seeks to balance manifesto commitments with more recent pledges, such as a hike in defence spending, while meeting her fiscal rules that promise to match day-to-day spending with revenues.
Sir Keir Starmer meanwhile rejected the idea that squeezed police budgets could make communities less safe.
The Prime Minister also said that the decision to reinstate most winter fuel payments was not a response to the backlash against the policy.
The Chancellor has committed £16.7 billion to nuclear power projects, including £14.2 billion of investment to build the new Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk.
Ms Reeves said the Government was "making Labour choices" and "making progress" in an address to the GMB Union Congress in Brighton on Tuesday.
She said: "I know that not enough working people are yet feeling that progress, and that's what tomorrow's spending review is all about - making working people better off, investing in our security, investing in our health, investing in our economy.
"This Government is going for growth because that is the best way to create jobs, boost wages, lift people out of poverty, and sustainably fund our schools and our hospitals and all the public services we rely on.
"And we're doing things differently, because unlike the Tories, I don't think that the only good thing that a government can do is get out of the way."
Ms Reeves is under pressure to reverse course on cuts to benefits after she confirmed a U-turn on winter fuel payments that will see them restored to pensioners with an income of less than £35,000-a-year.
She stood firm on welfare reforms on Tuesday as a union representative urged her to "think again" on the cuts.
The Chancellor said the current system is "not sustainable" and that reforms aimed to get those who can work back into work and help "fulfil the ambitions of people with disabilities themselves to get back into work".
The reforms include plans to tighten the eligibility criteria for personal independence payments, known as Pip.