What does the Spring Statement mean for the UK's BIZ Experiencess? A collective sigh of relief may have been heard across the country as the Chancellor confirmed there were no additional taxes to be announced during the Spring Statement.

After all, the effects of the changes made when Rachel Reeves stood at the podium to deliver the 2024 Autumn Budget are yet to be felt, with the hike in National Insurance Contributions, Capital Gains Tax and National Minimum Wage, plus changes to Business Asset Disposal Relief and Investors' Relief coming into force at the start of this month (April).

But with no measures announced which would see taxes reduced for companies, was the Spring Statement good news for UK small businesses and would-be BIZ Experiencess?

An industry push

There was a clear focus on certain sectors such as defence, which – if the promises are upheld – are likely to mean good news for businesses able to access additional funds or partner with the Government on new contracts.

We also saw a focus on construction, which was no surprise to those of us within the industry, who have been keeping a keen eye on the ambitious housing targets set down by Labour. The planning and infrastructure bill is going through Parliament currently; if passed, we will see 1.5 million homes built in England within the next five years, as well as a reduction in bureaucracy surrounding home building and 150 planning decisions fast-tracked for major infrastructure projects. The bill should also bring with it welcome additional opportunities for developers to bid for house-building opportunities.

This is great news, but with a well-known skills shortage across many industries, business owners would like reassurances around how this will be addressed over the coming years. Ten new technical colleges are set to be built around the country, training 16,000 more construction workers; and there'll also be a focus on getting the one in eight young people currently not in education, employment or training into work. But of course, we'd all like firm timelines on this so we know when expect an influx of skilled candidates to fill vacant roles, or allow us to expand our businesses.

Hold fire on the celebrations

Businesses are now grappling with increased National Insurance Contributions (up from 13.8% to 15%), projected to raise between £23.8 billion and £25.7 billion. However, concerns persist these costs may be passed on to employees through wage reductions and consumers through increased prices.

There was some limited direct support announced for SMEs, such as the VAT registration threshold increasing from £85,000 to £90,000 this month, and the extension of the Growth Guarantee Scheme – which guarantees 70% of loans of up to £2 million, supporting access to finance for SMEs wishing to invest or expand.

While there are glimmers of hope, especially for the specific sectors such as defence that the Government has honed in on as 'key' to its bid to boost the economy, it's definitely no time for celebration among the UK's business owners.

The economic growth forecast is currently sat at 1%, down from 2% last autumn, which signifies that there is much work to be done in order to see prosperity and progress for businesses and the Government alike.

While there are plenty of promises that the future will be better, there haven't been any across-the-board changes which relieve the burden and pressure on BIZ Experiencess.

We're all showing continued resilience, and trying to plan for the future despite changing global political, corporate and economic pictures – but without a real clear road map of how the Government plans to support all businesses going forward, the Spring Statement felt disheartening and underwhelming for many.

The Chancellor made a series of bold assertions about how her plans would improve the fortunes of everyone in the UK. But we now need to see the fine details, and down the road we need proof that changes are coming and will improve the current situation. UK business owners will continue to fight through tough situations, but we need the Government on our side – so let's hope the Budget this autumn inspires some confidence in us all, with a solid action plan and some measures designed to boost the UK's businesses.