Industry experts comment on Spring budget

  Posted by: electime      24th March 2022

Following the news of energy prices skyrocketing and National Insurance contributions increasing from the Chancellor’s Spring Statement yesterday afternoon. Here we hear from companies in the industry to get their thoughts on the announcement:

Nicky Chenery, General Manager EMEA, SafetyCulture

“While little business support was announced during this year’s Spring Statement, organisations should see the new measures as a moment to double down on supporting staff through this challenging period.

Employees make or break a business. Teams need to feel valued and supported at all times, even when the going gets tough for leadership too. Today is one such example with energy prices skyrocketing and National Insurance contributions increasing too. Morale can and likely will be significantly impacted, so leaders need to know how to support their workforce and step up otherwise they risk losing staff during the ongoing global talent crisis.

Strong communication between managers and their teams – and between leaders and the shop floor – will be critical. All too often, employees feel they don’t have the tools or the confidence to speak up, not helped by the fact that recent research from SafetyCulture found two-thirds of frontline staff don’t feel listened to.

As the cost of living continues to grow, we must equip staff with the tools they need to thrive – whether that’s with meaningful mental health initiatives, simple technologies to support better communication and flagging issues, or making time for 1-1 chats. One-third of workers we spoke to also said they don’t report issues because they think “nothing will be done” – contributing to major issues like burnout and an unsafe workplace.

When it comes to the role of technology in this, a cost of living crisis may not seem the best time to invest – but it doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. Simple mobile tools such as digital checklists can empower employees to take action and help them work more efficiently. Engaging and effective training tools on topics such as giving feedback, managing a safe workplace, and communication skills can also contribute to staff feeling more confident – raising morale and creating a supportive culture in tough times.”

Yad Jaura, Product Manager at Netcall

“We welcome cuts to income tax, a lift in the National Insurance contributions threshold and the doubling of the Household Support Fund to £1 billion for vulnerable households, as part of Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement to help aid the pressures on UK consumers. However, with inflation at a 30-year high, the rising costs of energy bills and services will continue to take their toll. To help further support customers in these tough economic times, identifying them early and helping them by ensuring intuitive and easy to navigate payment support platforms are available must be a key focus for utility providers.

Whilst not a solution to the financial turmoil being faced, through automated, digital platforms that make payment support processes easier to manage, customers can feel reassured that they will receive the support they need, whilst avoiding the frustration of tackling disjointed and outdated systems. The repercussions that the soaring prices have had on energy providers and contact centres should not be underestimated but having the right infrastructure in place to deal with customer payments may go some way towards helping.”

Sanjay Neogi – Head of UK and Europe, Enzen Group

Cuts to fuel duty are certainly a welcome relief with the proposed measures looking set to make transport more affordable in the short-term. Looking at the mid-term, 0% VAT making energy saving devices such as roof-top solar more affordable provides us with more good news. The next step here is for a comprehensive energy strategy that tackles the long-term challenges, factoring in the much-needed infrastructure overhaul that consistently prioritises electric vehicle charging and renewable energy integration over fossil fuels.

In the face of soaring energy bills, rising planet temperatures and accelerating geo-political conflicts, there has never been a more pressing time for an energy strategy. And its postponement has left many unanswered questions around the UK’s plans to safeguard power supply. The crisis in Ukraine has, among other tragic impacts, bought this all sharply into focus; and today’s spring statement could have been the perfect platform to shine a spotlight on how the energy crisis can be mitigated.

The good news is we can overcome the current challenges by harnessing sustainable solutions. And the answer is rooted in resilience. The UK must become self-reliant when it comes to power, which includes the decentralisation and diversification of renewables, a robust cyber security system, and a more urgent focus on the infrastructure required to accommodate electric vehicles and renewable sources onto our grid.

3ti, a solar car park installer

“Today’s Spring Statement shows the chancellor has his eyes in the rear view mirror. Cutting fuel duty will save drivers a couple of pounds when they fill up – that’s a short-term fix. More support to encourage the transition to electric vehicles and renewable, sustainable, zero carbon electricity to charge them, would be a far better long-term solution. Even with a 5% fuel duty cut, the cost per mile in a petrol or diesel car is double that of solar powered EV charged car with renewable energy. We’d urge the Government to consider looking to a more renewable future, to help with today’s cost of living crisis and climate emergency.” Tim Evans, CEO of 3ti

Mike Parkes, technical director at GoSimpleTax  

“The cost-of-living crisis is set to reach a perfect storm in April 2022 when increased national insurance and dividend hikes come into effect.

“The government will temporarily increase National Insurance by 1.25% for employers, employees and the self-employed, although it’s being named as a health and social care levy and positioned as much-needed support for the NHS.

“The Chancellor has in many ways missed the opportunity to soften the edges of the tax increases and credit crunch facing many self-employed people currently. After two years of feeling unsupported and a drop in the number of people working for themselves in that period, this is a group of people the Chancellor has recognised for their entrepreneurial spirit and what self-employed people contribute to the economy.

“The cuts to fuel duty will be welcomed by many self-employed people. It was a good move as this is the most obvious way to help families and target support to a greater proportion of society, as well as supporting businesses managing costs.

“It was interesting to hear about the potential incentives for investing for growth, skills and innovation in the UK – but there was nothing similar for the self-employed. It would be an excellent move to see how a similar incentive for investment could be replicated for people who are self-employed and grow their own enterprises.

“Looking ahead, the UK’s four million self-employed people need clear direction and advice from the Government on taxation and specifically Making Tax Digital. More than half of the self-employed people in the UK aren’t aware of the changes and how their obligations will differ – the Government needs to make this crystal clear and provide freelancers and the self-employed with everything they need.”

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB 

“With 29 million homes in the UK, of which many are leaky and energy inefficient, decarbonising our existing housing stock represents an important piece of the net zero puzzle. Historically, consumers have not been properly incentivised to commission green upgrades to their homes. This VAT cut will help householders insulate their home at a time when energy bills are escalating. It will also provide a much-needed boost to local builders operating in the retrofit market. The Government now needs to build on the VAT cut and implement a long term National Retrofit Strategy to provide business certainty.”

“The commitment from the Chancellor to improve the UK’s skills system is encouraging, notably the push for greater numbers of employers to train up staff. This is particularly true for construction, a sector that has suffered long-term skills shortages. Smaller firms in the construction sector already conduct the bulk of the training, with 71 per cent of all construction apprentices being trained by them. Measures should focus on providing long-term solutions that incentivise more businesses to play their part in training the next generation of tradespeople. The FMB therefore welcome the Chancellor’s commitment to enhance this system.”

“Unfortunately, the Chancellor made no reference today to the impact of the planned end to the Red Diesel Rebate on many smaller construction firms, already suffering from rising costs. While the cut in fuel duty will support builders in their travel to and from jobs and make buying regular diesel for machinery cheaper, delaying the end of the Red Diesel Rebate would have made a much more positive impact on builders’ wallets. This is precisely the wrong time to heighten costs for building projects, with an additional need for there to be greater alignment in ensuring that green alternatives, such as bio fuels, are affordable and accessible for construction firms.”

Jamie Jeffries, CEO of Access Training UK

“We welcome the news that the government will be reviewing the Apprenticeship Levy. We desperately need to encourage more people to take a vocational route into training, and this starts by making sure training schemes are properly funded. The skills shortage has been a disaster brewing for decades. It’s estimated that the UK needs to recruit 217,000 new workers by 2025 in construction alone, just to keep up with current demand.

Just 18 per cent of young people hold a vocational qualification. If we are to encourage more people into vocational training we need to ensure that the Apprenticeship Levy remains focused on the training and development of those looking to enter work, and does not become a tool to offer businesses wage subsidies.”