Robert Elliott, Director of Business Development and Policy at Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, has shared the Chamber’s response to the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget, highlighting the importance of supporting business growth, encouraging investment and addressing the ongoing cost pressures facing businesses across the two counties.
“Businesses across Herefordshire and Worcestershire will welcome the Chancellor’s focus on economic growth, investment and skills. However, many firms will be measuring this Budget against the very real challenges they continue to face every day.
While there are positive measures aimed at supporting investment and productivity, businesses remain under significant pressure from rising employment costs, inflationary pressures and wider operating expenses. For many small and medium-sized enterprises, these cumulative costs continue to constrain investment and growth ambitions.
We welcome support for skills, apprenticeships and workforce development. As the organisation leading the Local Skills Improvement Plan across Herefordshire and Worcestershire, we recognise the importance of ensuring employers can access the talent they need to remain competitive and productive.
Businesses will also be looking for stability and certainty. Investment decisions are often made over several years, and employers need confidence in the long-term direction of economic policy, taxation and employment regulation.
Many businesses will feel that this Budget contains some welcome intentions, but it does not remove the significant cumulative cost burden that has built up over recent years. The challenge now is to translate ambition into practical support that enables businesses to grow, invest and create jobs.
Ultimately, the success of this Budget will be judged not by the announcements made at the despatch box, but by whether businesses on our high streets, industrial estates and business parks feel able to invest with confidence, recruit skilled people and drive economic growth.
Our Members are resilient and ambitious. What they need is a policy environment that rewards enterprise, supports investment and recognises the essential contribution businesses make to local communities and the wider economy.”