It seems that business gave the Chancellor’s budget in March the thumbs-up although it wasn’t all good news. Here Alex Jackman Head of Policy for the Forum for Private Business, gives his verdict.

One good thing, according to Alex, is the Employment Allowance that is worth  £2,000 and will be a real boon for smaller UK businesses. “We’ve been calling for a scheme like this for a number of years now, so our only disappointment with this is that it’s 12 months away, and that’s a mighty long way off,” he said. “While business will love the concept, the fact that no financial benefits will be felt until April 2014 somewhat takes the shine off it. Still, it will allow for businesses to prepare and plan ahead.”

“The bottom line here though is that this initiative will have a double function: either incentivise employers to take on more staff, or to take the saving and boost their profitability. For many small firms who’ve been operating on extremely small margins the latter would be welcome relief.  For businesses looking to grow though, it means they’ll be able to employ an additional employee earning £22,400, or an additional four employees working full-time on the adult minimum wage without any increase in their employer NICs. That’s got to be good for employment figures and therefore the wider economy.”

Alex felt that the Chancellor was spot on with his scrapping of the fuel duty increase. “No one wants to see fuel prices any higher than they are and small businesses will welcome that. Let’s not forget though that prices are fast approaching record highs – any increase would have been reckless so this was just basic common sense.”

But Alex still feels that the government needs to implement some kind of fuel stabiliser. “The only way we’re going to see anything approaching a fair price for fuel in the UK will be via a mechanism that works to bring fuel tax down when prices are high,” he said. “Such a system would mean prices as they stand now would not be hovering just shy of £1.50 and taking money from the pockets of consumers better spent elsewhere in the economy. Unfortunately the UK will now suffer for another year at the mercy of fluctuating oil prices right when we need it least because of the Chancellor’s failure to introduce such a system.”

It wasn’t all good news, of course, and Alex said that it was disappointing that there had not been any action on business rates.  “Business rates have risen so much in just a few years they are the number one enemy to many small firms, and we believe they are a big part of the problem with our high streets too. It was the obvious way to relieve pressure and is a missed chance for quick relief for business.”

On balance though Alex felt that the budget was a good one for business. “There was enough in the Chancellor’s speech to keep business happy – for now anyway. But it’s just a sticking plaster if growth doesn’t really kick in for another year. While we welcome the measures in here for short-term help, longer-term worries remain, and unfortunately once again a lot will rely on what happens in Europe and beyond in 2013.”