Let’s deliver a confidence-building Budget that’s not short on ambition.

After some political fun around conference season, the hard work of government begins again in earnest as things ramp up ahead of the Budget. While speculation about specific announcements will dominate in the coming days, the one thing we can be sure of is that growth will, rightly, be the north star of Labour’s mission-driven agenda.

While the Chancellor famously has little room for manoeuvre, the Budget does offer an important opportunity to capitalise on our competitive edge and showcase the UK as a modern, progressive economy. One poised to capitalise on the major commercial opportunities of the day. It’s an opportunity that businesses across the UK, including here in the South West, are desperate for us to seize.

That doesn’t mean risking economic stability – something still hugely prized – but it does mean moving forward with renewed confidence and purpose. We must take action now to crowd-in the private investment that will scale our economy to new heights and fund serious upgrades to our public services. With that in mind, the CBI has submitted to the Treasury a series of dynamic, yet practical, solutions that businesses across all regions and sectors want to see.

Accessing the people and skills businesses need to grow and thrive remains a significant handbrake on the UK economy. That’s why we need to see the Chancellor take strides to boost productivity and skills investment by delivering a more flexible Apprenticeship Levy. Reform of the Levy is long overdue and can be a first step towards delivering the government’s vision for a new, more comprehensive, Growth and Skills Levy.

While larger firms are making real progress in adopting technologies that transform their operations, we know that some smaller firms are lagging behind. Becoming faster, smarter, and more resilient has to be the goal for every UK business, and that’s why we want to see the Made Smarter Programme extended to all corners and sectors of the economy as part of a long-term National Technology Adoption Strategy.

With green growth firmly on the minds on many firms, and amidst growing global competition, we urgently need to build confidence in the net zero transition to grease the wheels of green investment. Using targeted tax incentives can help drive a meaningful step change in investment and help the UK firmly re-establish itself at the forefront of the green growth revolution.

Firms across the South West tell us every day that they are looking for certainty, particularly when it comes to taxation. Recent years have seen so much chopping and changing over tax and investment incentives that it has given firms pause for thought about investing in their businesses. Publishing a business tax roadmap, alongside reforming an outdated and unfair business rates system, would go some way to achieving that goal.

If the Budget can address these key issues, I have no doubt that it could make a material difference to our economic trajectory, both in the short and long term. Building momentum behind our economy now would really help to cement what we already know: that the UK is the best place to start and grow a business.

?