Chancellor to aim his Budget at cutting cost of business and supporting entrepreneurs

The Chancellor has pledged that his first Budget will address reducing the cost of doing business and be aimed at “bloody-minded entrepreneurs”.

John Healey has said that he was "conscious" of how companies are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and tax rises – some of those put up by his predecessor Rachel Reeves during Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership – ahead of his debut Budget on Wednesday 28 October.

“I want to be a chancellor who backs business in Britain making a profit, and those entrepreneurs who, in the end, are the ones who challenge the status quo, come up with innovative ideas and are trying, some of them through sheer bloody-mindedness, to keep going through these sorts of pressures,” the Cabinet chief told The Times.

Mr Healey also said firms had been under “a lot of pressure” in recent years, pointing to changes to employment law, regulation, higher taxes and global supply chains coming under pressure due to world events, a likely hint at the disruption caused by conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Ms Reeves, when she was chancellor, increased the employer National Insurance contributions rate from 13.8% to 15%, a move that came into effect last year.

Major employers have complained about it adding millions of pounds onto their outgoings.

Chancellor John Healey during a visit to Shell UK’s St Fergus Gas Terminal in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, following the announcement of the Government’s decision on the future of the Jackdaw gas field

PA Wire

Mr Healey continued: “And so when I talk about the cost of business, and recognising that in the same way as we’re recognising the cost of living pressures, I’m conscious of that as I go into the budget for both businesses and households.”

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said it expects gas to be flowing out of the site and into the domestic supply chain within weeks.

Mr Healey faces economic pressures ahead of his Budget next week.

UK government borrowing rose by more than expected to £24.5 billion for last month, underscoring the constraints in the public finances ahead of the Chancellor’s Budget.

Mr Healey is expected to increase bank taxes as higher borrowing costs weigh down on fiscal headroom.

It comes as London business chiefs urged the Chancellor to give the Mayor of London new powers to borrow against future revenue from transport and other schemes.

They argued it could kick-start funding for developments such as the Bakerloo line extension and West London Orbital, creating more than 20,000 jobs and paving the way for 36,000 new homes.