A Budget for Truly Inclusive Growth?
Date published:
Today’s Budget for Growth was always going to be about steadying the ship and helping the British economy emerge from the instability of late 2022. On the Office for Budget Responsibility’s independent forecast there was initial evidence that this was starting to be achieved, with inflation projected to calm and growth projected to improve much earlier than at the time of the Autumn Statement.
In November the Chancellor put in place a fiscal and funding framework that pushed some difficult spending decisions into the medium term. That laid the foundations for some of today’s big policy set-pieces – on childcare, on older workers and on devolution and investment zones. Alongside the boost for net zero capacity and capability and the expansion of the mid-life MOT to help employees in SMEs, there were several announcements which, on the surface at least, looked very much like interventions not just for traditional growth but more inclusive growth.
But no Budget’s perfect and there were some missed opportunities – once again very little on the re-evaluation of business rates and SME tax reliefs, and incentives mostly in the space of R&D and not beyond. Finally – and concerningly – nothing again on further education funding, which is facing another year of working with ever-diminishing budgets.
Given all of that, what’s so interesting about members’ views and voices across the Chamber right now is that, despite the obvious and often significant pressures and demands of inflation, energy costs and staff shortages, there is a level of optimism and resilience. Hope might be a more accurate description than confidence just now. But hope it a powerful emotion. Hope drives you to find solutions, to focus on assets more than the deficits. Hope encourages you to be ambitious, to explore new markets, to invest and innovate.
Can this Budget for Growth harness that hope and deliver, as the Chancellor promised “prosperity with a purpose”? I wonder if the risk for once in the North East is that our ambition may not keep pace with the government’s plans – that we will want to move faster, further than a policy framework which tackles childcare but doesn’t offer much for people caring for older parents.
That’s where the power to do things ourselves will make the difference. Where the credibility and autonomy earned through our existing hard work on devolution and local collaboration will reap rewards. Because the more we can imagine a hopeful, ambitious future, the more we can draw institutions and people to the region’s causes. With the North East in the driving seat, prosperity with a purpose can really be delivered.
Download our Budget briefing document here.
Find our initial statement here.