Government must now focus on delivering energy and National Insurance pledges

National chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Martin McTague, said focussing on what’s really important is crucial at a time when the cost-of-doing business crisis is biting deep.

Mr McTague said the government should make good on its previous commitments before embarking on any more changes.

The comments come after Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng made a number of statements in regard to changing the commitments made in the mini-budget in his speech to the Conservative Party Conference on Monday (3 October).

As well as the reversal of 45 per cent tax hike, Mr Kwarteng said he will speed up plans for a new fiscal statement, expected to be focussed on spending and deregulation.

It will now take place later this month, rather than 23 November, accompanied by new forecasts from the Office of Budget Responsibility, in another move designed to restore market stability.

The government said it also “will be replacing GDPR (general data protection regulation) with its own business and consumer friendly British data protection system”.

“When Parliament returns, the legislation needed to implement these two changes must be achieved swiftly, so that the much-needed benefit of them will be felt by small firms by November, as they’re expecting,” he said.

“It was welcome to hear the Chancellor re-commit to scrapping changes to IR35 rules, cancelling a planned rise in Corporation Tax, and permanently increasing the Annual Investment Allowance. 

“It is right to bring forward supply side reforms to get growth and support small firms.

“There remains scope for further support by tackling poor payment practices by bigger businesses towards their smaller suppliers and contractors. Strong, clear action on this would protect cashflow and the survival of small firms, while not incurring a cost to taxpayers.

“Many headwinds remain, not least inflation and rising interest rates.

“With the right conditions, small business entrepreneurs are the drivers of economic growth, and therefore it is vital that stringent efforts are made to ensure an economic climate in which they can invest, innovate and grow.”