Chamber urges government to impose no new taxes on business to unlock North East growth in Autumn Budget
Date published:
The North East Chamber of Commerce has submitted its priorities ahead of the UK Autumn Budget, calling for practical, high-impact measures to unlock economic growth and job creation across the region.
Representing nearly 2,000 businesses employing around 40% of the North East’s workforce, the Chamber is urging the government to support regional prosperity in the 2025 Autumn Budget by applying fiscal rules flexibly, accelerating regional opportunities and focusing on delivery.
Key recommendations from the Chamber’s submission:
- No new tax burdens on business – provide firms with the clarity now so they face 2026 with certainty.
- Fiscal flexibility and locally led investment – apply fiscal rules with flexibility, deepening devolution to support existing commitments.
- Skills, employment and workforce – reform the Apprenticeship Levy, sustain Local Skills Improvement Plan activity, and remove the two-child limit for Universal Credit.
- Clean energy and infrastructure – unlock renewables, grid and private-wire capacity, alongside continued investment in transport and digital connectivity.
- Trade and regional delivery – create a regionally tailored Export Hub and scale digital trade training for SMEs in partnership with regional Chambers of Commerce.
John McCabe, chief executive at the Chamber, said, “Businesses across the North East understand the difficult financial circumstances facing the government. They have already played their part, absorbing April’s national insurance rises alongside the ongoing effects of inflation. That’s why the Chancellor must commit to no new taxes on business in this Budget and focus investment where it will make the greatest impact.
“Our members stress that certainty and clarity are just as important as funding. Our Budget submission on their behalf sets out how a stable policy framework and local flexibility can enable businesses and employers to invest with confidence, driving long-term productivity.
“From clean energy to digital innovation, the North East is already delivering. This Budget is an opportunity to back the businesses, people and places driving growth, unlocking the North East economy for the benefit of the UK.”
The submission also calls for clarity on VAT thresholds to support micro-business growth, the implementation of legislative reforms to address the problem of late payments, a review of Business Property Relief for family businesses, and the reversal of the National Insurance increase for charities.
On skills, the government’s recent commitment to additional further education funding is welcomed as a longstanding Chamber ask. The Chancellor needs to use the Budget to confirm whether the allocation is new money and into which academic years it will fall. The submission also reiterates the Chamber’s call to remove the two-child limit for Universal Credit to cut child poverty and boost labour-market participation.
The Chamber’s submission is grounded in its recently published policy plan, Unlocking the North East Economy 2025-27.
The UK Autumn Budget will be delivered at 12.30hrs, on Wednesday 26 November 2025.
Download the Chamber’s Autumn Budget 2025 submission here.