Business leaders warn of no ‘major boost’ for Suffolk in budget
The new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP, stood up in Parliament yesterday to deliver her yearly speech
Business leaders have warned there's no 'major boost' for Suffolk in the government's recently announced budget.
The new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP, stood up in Parliament yesterday to deliver her yearly speech on the Government’s budget for the upcoming financial year.
Her speech featured a range of promises, including a 6.7 per cent increase to minimum wage, bringing it to £12.21 per hour, and a commitment to not increasing national insurance (NI), VAT, and income tax for working people.
On business, Ms Reeves announced she would increase the contributions employers have to make to national insurance, from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent, as well as nearly halving the threshold at which businesses start contributing from £9,100 to £5,000.
Reacting to the news, Suffolk’s Chamber of Commerce has warned the decision, part of the Government’s overall £40bn tax hike, would hit the county’s businesses hard and stated the budget would not deliver a ‘major boost’ in Suffolk.
It stated: “Whilst some of the tax rises in today’s budget were not as bad as some had expected, the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions will hit Suffolk businesses hard and do little to deliver the economic growth that the government wants.”
While Ms Reeves also promised transport investment for rail projects in the North, the Chamber called for money to be committed to ‘long overdue improvements’ to rail junctions at Haughley and Ely.
The Chamber stated this would not only boost Suffolk’s economy but also the rest of the UK with more freight able to be transported by rail to and from Felixstowe.
Toby Warren, the Chamber’s head of policy, said although there was some good news, it was disappointing there weren’t more of them for the county, and stressed the Government should realise ‘the benefits to the UK as a whole of investing some of those billions in Suffolk’.
Some of this good news included assurances for the new West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmmunds and a drop in duty on draught beers and ciders, which got the biggest cheer of the day.
Welcoming the assurances for the new hospital was Gary Norgate, programme director for the Future System programme.
He said: “We are pleased the Chancellor has confirmed in today’s Budget that the project to deliver a new West Suffolk Hospital will continue at pace.
“As one of the seven RAAC hospitals, we wait with anticipation confirmation of our allocated capital budget.
“In the meantime, we continue to work closely with our community, colleagues and the national New Hospital Programme team to design and build a hospital fit for the future. We look forward to providing exciting news of progress.”
On booze, Greene King CEO, Nick Mackenzie, said he welcomed the reduction in draught duty, but warned it was a ‘drop in the ocean’ compared to the changes to national insurance contributions.
He added: “Despite a glimmer of hope on the horizon for business rates reform in 2026, the layering of substantial costs on pubs next year is going to leave businesses with difficult choices around investment, prices and hiring.
“I would urge the Chancellor to work with the industry to help reduce the cost of doing business as a matter of urgency, with the possible changes to business rates for hospitality in 2026 needing to happen sooner to end the unfair taxation of the nation’s locals.”