4


one of the biggest shocks from the chancellor with her announcement that inheritance tax relief for farms is being limited to £1m. The NFU says the decision has left farming families “reeling” and its president Tom Bradshaw warning: “Every penny the chancellor saves from this will come directly from the next generation having to break up their family farm. It simply mustn’t happen.”


With protests mounting we await with interest what will happen next and if the government will reverse its decision on what has been called a ‘family farm tax’.


The chancellor said her mission was growth and declared: “The only way to drive economic growth is to invest, invest, invest.”


She unveiled £100bn in government capital spending over the next five years, with nearly £1bn for the aerospace sector and more than £2bn for the automotive industry. There was also money for training, which is good news.


In the run-up to the Budget, we pointed out that if the government is to succeed in its mission to build back public services it needs a healthy and growing private sector.


The question is, have these tax rises made it more difficult for our businesses to invest in that growth and how many will put their scaleup plans back in the bottom drawer?


There is no getting away from it, this was a tough Budget for business.


Rachel Reeves’ package of £40bn tax cuts – with the rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions a central plank of the government’s money raising plan – will have left businesses across Lancashire assessing what the impact will be on them.


Add to that the rise in the National Minimum Wage and the proposed raft of changes to employment law and challenges are coming from multiple fronts.


We don’t believe there is a business in Lancashire that doesn’t want to put more money into its employees’ pay packets. And


Richard Slater chairman richard@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 295584


Joanne Hindley sales director joanne@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 295585


Ged Henderson editor editor@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 295585


Olivia McCaughran assistant marketing manager olivia@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 295587


Adam Varnom graphic designer adam@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 297870


the private sector acknowledges the role it has to play in helping fund a public sector that is healthy and delivers for us all.


However, piling all these at once on businesses, some that are already fragile, risks doing more harm than good.


VEKA is one of Lancashire’s biggest private employers, with more than 400 people working at its manufacturing operation in Burnley.


The National Insurance decision alone will take around £500,000 from its bottom line. As its managing director Neil Evans says: “It’s simple, if businesses absorb these costs, there is less to invest.”


Lancashire’s farming community received


Stephen Bolton managing director stephen@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 295583


Abbey Coates events and operations manager abbey@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 295585


Rob Kelly multimedia journalist rob@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 297870


Anna King


senior administrator anna@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 295582


The true test of this


Budget will be whether small businesses can grow and end the


economic stagnation the UK has been stuck in


As Tina McKenzie, policy chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, rightly points out, the true test of this Budget will be whether small businesses can grow and end the economic stagnation the UK has been stuck in. Time will tell.


Lancashire Business View is written, designed and produced in Lancashire by Northpoint Publishing.


Lancashire Business View and LBV are registered trademarks.


The views expressed by our columnists are not necessarily shared by Lancashire Business View.


Photography: Clive Lawrence, Liz Henson Photography and Adam Varnom.


Printers: Peter Scott Printers, Burnley


Northpoint Publishing East Park Lodge, East Park Road, Blackburn BB1 8DW


t: 01254 297870 ISSN: 1757-479X


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