Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce (TVCC) today welcomed several headline measures announced in the Budget but warned the package contains a number of omissions and mixed signals that risk undermining business confidence and investment across the region.
“Today’s Budget has felt like a Budget of leaks, and leaks are the last thing business needs,” said Paul Britton, Chief Executive, TVCC. “When the issue of the day is confidence, clarity and follow-through matter. Headline announcements are helpful, but the proof will be in the detail and in how quickly firms can see firm support translated into real incentives to invest and recruit.”
The commitment to free apprenticeship training for under-25s employed by SME’s is welcome and will be important for those smaller employers who struggle with upfront training and hiring costs. However, the Chamber emphasises that headlines are not enough: direct incentives and fuller funding are required, to make training truly viable for cash-strapped smaller firms. “For SME’s investing in developing staff, it is committing to the long term that commitment should be rewarded,” he adds.
Many members, especially in hospitality and other low-margin sectors, want to hire younger people but fear wage increases may make hiring and on-the-job investment harder.
Access to skills, recruitment difficulty, and inflation/tax remain top concerns for local businesses. The Chamber will monitor closely how the rise in the national living wage affects business sentiment and appetite to recruit and train younger workers.
Changes to business rates are a mixed picture and, again, the devil is in the detail. Industrial warehousing, a sector that has supported commercial property as offices consolidate, is particularly nervous about the proposed approach. There is some relief for pubs and high street businesses, but the Chamber asks whether the measures will be sufficiently impactful on the bottom line. TVCC has long advocated for greater relief for pubs and hospitality.
The range of tax announcements requires careful analysis. Some measures offer short-term relief (for example continued fuel duty relief until September 2026), but other changes, such as alterations to salary sacrifice for pensions from 2029, send mixed long-term signals. Changes that reduce incentives for electric vehicle uptake (for example lower mileage support for EVs) risk slowing market momentum at a crucial time.
Overall, the Budget sends contradictory messages on support for decarbonisation and for manufacturers and customers making the shift to electric.
“The Budget missed an opportunity to set out stronger, targeted incentives for exporters and long-term business investment” he continues. “The Chamber believes supporting, upskilling and export market development is one of the most effective ways to drive sustainable growth for local firms”.
There was a clear message that investment for devolved city regions is the focus, with areas outside of select metro areas such as the Thames Valley risking falling behind. The British Chambers of Commerce also report “we have seen UK wide business support funding of almost £1bn axed and replaced with a system of piecemeal support which favours select urban regions”.
This highlights the merit of local authorities working together across traditional boundaries within the Thames Valley, with the view to develop a Strategic Mayoral Authority – an issue of expedience for local authorities here in the Thames Valley.
Sheryl Davis, Partner, Saffery adds:
“After a year in which businesses shouldered most of last year’s tax increases, this Budget offered tweaks rather than tectonic shifts. The 100% full expensing first year allowance for companies incurring qualifying capital expenditure has been maintained. In addition, we saw the introduction of a new 40% first year allowance for additions which do not qualify for the 100% full expensing, which will benefit leasing companies and unincorporated businesses, though the cut in the main writing-down rate from 18% to 14% may temper some of that optimism.
“Transfer pricing rules are also being updated and support for business growth has been bolstered through investment initiatives, including an expansion of the Enterprise Management Incentive EMI scheme and higher fundraising limits under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Venture Capital Trust (VCT) programmes – welcome signs for scale-ups looking for capital.
“What didn’t materialise was just as significant: no employer NICs on LLP members and no VAT threshold shake-up. The one surprise? A sharp halving of capital gains tax (CGT) relief on qualifying disposals to employee ownership trusts from 100% to 50%, which has come into effect immediately.”
Naadim Shamji, private client senior associate, B P Collins said “The Budget introduces some meaningful, if highly targeted, adjustments to the inheritance tax regime.
“The decision to allow any unused £1 million allowance for agricultural and business property reliefs to pass between spouses and civil partners from April 2026 is a welcome step, including if the first death was before 6 April 2026. This should mean that a married couple, who pass their estates to one another on the first death, would be able to give away £2 million worth of business and agricultural assets by the time of the second death.
“Also, the reforms to the treatment of unclaimed pension funds and death benefits are worth noting. In particular, Executors will be discharged from a liability for payment of Inheritance Tax on pensions discovered after they have received clearance from HMRC. Taking effect from 6 April 2027, this offers much-needed clarity and protection in an area that has long been administratively fraught.
“However, the continued freezing of the nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band until 2031 are the tax change which will arguably impact the most people overall. In a period of rising asset values, the prolonged freeze will, in practice, draw more estates into the IHT net. While today’s measures provide some technical refinements, they do little to ease the broader pressure on families who are increasingly finding themselves facing inheritance tax exposure.
Lastly, the new ‘mansion’ tax arriving in 2028 – starting at £2,500 for properties over £2 million and rising to £7,500 for homes worth £5 million or more – will draw in many homeowners in London and the South East. It’s an additional cost that homeowners will need to factor into their long-term planning.”
