Budget Resolutions
It is a pleasure to open the final day of the Budget debate. As we begin, let us pause and remember what is really essential to the debate today. Where are we as a country and what do we really need to talk about in this debate? I would put it like this. In the last year, gas prices have tripled, oil prices are up by over 60% and our borrowing costs—alongside those of all the major economies—have risen; and yet, business investment is rising, our economic growth has accelerated and the IMF has singled out the UK for praise for our deficit reduction plan. That is testament to the extraordinary resilience of the British people, British businesses and the British economy. We know from reading the official documentation that there is no doubt but that ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have driven up costs here and around the world. However, despite these significant economic headwinds, when the Chancellor came here last week, he delivered a substantial cost of living package to help the British people and long-term reforms to strengthen growth, and he commanded market confidence while he did so in a way that eluded the previous Conservative Government. There is not a shred of complacency on this side of the House, but the package he announced built on the success we have already achieved, with year-on-year growth—again, above 2%; an economy growing per head—not just through higher immigration, but because living standards are increasing; and wages rising faster than prices. It is clear, as we stand here today, that we can say the economy is stronger today than when this Government came to power. But we know things are still tough. That is why the Budget unveiled much-needed breathing space for families, businesses and working people. Beyond that breathing space, we are beginning and proceeding with the big changes needed to put our country on a better course: reindustrialising Britain, driving good growth in every postcode, and strengthening our national security. The Budget shows entrepreneurs, inventors and investors that the UK is the best place to start and grow a business, with this Government using our industrial strategy and wider policy platform to back them every step of the way. We cannot insulate people from every pressure or meet every ask in one go, but we can provide the targeted support that is necessary where it can make the biggest practical difference. That is why, to help our high streets and small and medium-sized enterprises, the Budget contains a £1 billion business rates package. In England, shops, restaurants and cafés of all sizes will get a two-year real-terms freeze. Around 70,000 more small retail, hospitality and leisure properties will be taken out of business rates altogether. To ensure that our high streets are vibrant into the future, the Budget also commits us to upgrading 600 post office branches in this financial year. That will help them to provide more accessible, welcoming spaces, simpler transactions and a speedier service for customers. That also includes the essential banking services upon which so many of our high street businesses and SMEs depend. The House will know that all these reforms form part of a much broader package being implemented by the Government to support the 5.7 million SMEs in this country that are the beating heart of our economy and the backbone of our communities. With our small business plan, we are bringing down costs and using the levers of Government to back British business. In particular, we are cracking down on the scourge of late payments that shuts down the equivalent of 38 firms a day and costs the economy almost £11 billion a year. Our Commercial Payments Bill will give us the strongest laws to tackle late payments in the whole of the G7, with the Bill’s Second Reading set to take place this month; I hope it will command cross-party support. We are also reducing the regulatory burden on our small and medium-sized businesses. Indeed, when the Prime Minister, Lord Leong and I met business owners at No. 10 North last month, we proudly accepted 14 recommendations from the small business taskforce, which has been working in partnership with the Government to reduce the bureaucracy holding British firms back. We are now making it simpler for smaller firms to bid for public contracts. We are streamlining Office for National Statistics business surveys to reduce form-filling. At the same time, we are making it easier for businesses to find support on gov.uk and helping them to report disproportionate regulations. We are delivering, too, on our “tell us once” ambition, as part of which we are pausing the Companies House profit and loss filing requirement for April 2028. I thank the Federation of Small Businesses for all its work on this agenda and in particular for its support on that decision. Where there is an opportunity to save businesses time and money, we will seek to do that. As proof positive of that agenda, the Budget included savings of over £600 million per year on regulatory administration, with streamlined company reporting requirements and reduced reporting burdens for asset managers. A simpler home buying and selling process will also save businesses over £100 million a year.