Latest updates and stories from Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce and its Members

The Chancellor’s Spring Budget, delivered yesterday (7^th March at the time of writing) is, it’s fair to say, hardly a business game-changer.

That said, there’s perhaps more business benefit in it than initially meets the eye - and not least because it contains changes that we, through our connection to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), lobbied for.

Here’s a brief overview of what we believe are the Budget’s most important business takeaways.

On 22nd November, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt made his Autumn Statement to Parliament – and despite the challenges of the past three years there were positives in it for businesses in our county.

Here’s our overview of what you need to know, the changes and the continuities you should expect, how you will benefit from them, and other developments you need to be aware of.

“Cutting and simplifying” – this is how the Government headlined its 2023 Spring Budget.

So, we did some cutting and simplifying of our own, boiling the budget down into its business essentials to highlight the changes and opportunities you need to be aware of - and how we at the Chamber help our members take action to get on top of them.

The WTO’s World Trade Report, released at the recent COP27 summit, contains much to make us all proud of being businesspeople, because it sees trade as the potential cornerstone of sustainability and climate action – not the hindrance to it that it is often viewed as.

Chancellor Hunt’s turn at the despatch box on 17 November was, in many ways, noteworthy for the taxes he didn’t change, rather than those he did.

But it’s important for businesses to understand that the absence of changes to headline tax rates hides changes to thresholds and allowances below the surface – and these will affect how much of your business’s earnings you keep.

Setting and managing budgets for your business can be a challenge. After all, planning how to spend what you can’t be sure you’ll have is something of a moving target!

With this in mind, we’ve put together a whistle-stop guide to take you through the budget essentials, and point you to advice and resources we at the Chamber offer to help make budgeting if not a breeze, then at least a little less turbulent.

Over half of UK firms attempted to recruit in the last quarter of 2019, but almost three quarters have struggled to find the right talent, the largest survey of UK employers has found.

As we head into November, Dr. Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) gave his reaction to the Autumn budget:

Giving his initial reaction to the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget, Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

by James Pinchbeck, Marketing Partner Streets Chartered Accountants.

The Chancellor has delivered his first Spring Statement, which did away with the typical announcements around tax changes and public sector cuts or increased spending. 

Commenting on the Spring Statement, delivered today by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) releases the results of its survey, in partnership with American Express, which finds the majority of businesses expect the fall in sterling to increase their costs.

While measures around the UK’s high-tech economy and a dramatic cut to Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for first-time buyers dominated Philip Hammond’s Budget, George Hay Chartered Accountants, which has offices in Biggleswade, Letchworth and Huntingdon, has criticised the lack of support for SMEs.

Giving his reaction to the Autumn Budget, Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

Giving his initial reaction to the Autumn Budget, Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

Commenting on the trade statistics for September, released today by the ONS, Mike Spicer, Director of Research Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

Commenting on today’s interest rate decision by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, Mike Spicer, Director of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

Ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget on November 22, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is urging the government to take immediate action to halt the expected 3.9% increase in business rates valuations next year, as part of a bold Budget that seeks to boost the UK’s productivity.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) today publishes its Quarterly Economic Survey – the UK’s largest and most authoritative private-sector business survey.

Giving his initial reaction to the Chancellor’s Budget, Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

As the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) publishes statistics that show two-in-five businesses are more concerned about business rates than three months ago, the business group renews its call for action in the Spring Budget this week to ease the burden of rates and bring about fundamental reform to the system.

Commenting on the inflation statistics for January 2017, published on the 14th February by the Office for National Statistics, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, said:

The recent fall in the value of Sterling is squeezing domestic sales margins, and increasing the cost base of UK businesses, according to the results of the British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) latest International Trade Survey. The findings, released today, also indicate that the weak pound is expected to push up the prices of products and services.

Ahead of the Chancellor’s Spring Budget on March 8, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is urging the government to take action on delivering real reform to the business rates system.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has today downgraded its UK GDP growth forecast, from 2.5% to 2.2% in 2016, and from 2.5% to 2.3% in 2017; for 2018, included for the first time in the forecast, GDP growth of 2.4% is predicted.

The Chancellor has delivered the first all Conservative budget since 1996 and seems to have provided a balance that seeks to eliminate the deficit but also maintain the stimulus to support a growing economy.

Ahead of the Chancellor’s Budget announcement on Wednesday 8 July, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is urging the government to commit to rebuilding Britain’s infrastructure, bringing to an end our ‘make-do and mend’ culture.

Commenting on Budget 2015, delivered today by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: