Autumn Budget 2017: The reaction from across London

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, revealed today how the government is to spend the 2017 budget.

Such proposals made included stamp duty abolition for first-time buyers - on homes worth up to £500k for those living in more expensive areas like London. Elsewhere, the limit stands at £300k.

Crucially, the tragedy of Grenfell Tower in June “which should never have happened” means that Hammond is to grant a further £28m into Kensington and Chelsea Council’s mental health services and a new community space for Grenfell United.

London will also be allowed to keep 100 per cent of its business rates in a new pilot. But what do the capital’s businesses actually make of the Chancellor’s speech? Read on for what they have to say:

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Michael Segal, area VP and strategy at NETSCOUT

“The investment in AI is a very smart move by the UK government. This decision directly impacts the national UK GDP, by empowering its businesses to become more productive and reduce costs. Productivity and cost reduction directly drive corporate revenue and profitability and increase the GDP.

“Supporting AI startups will drive new levels of automation, efficient data mining and machine learning. Automation will accelerate the digital transformation and make the adoption process more efficient, which would benefit enterprises in a variety of sectors such as government, manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, retail, technology and other.”

Darren Roos, president of SAP ERP Cloud

“The Government’s pledge today for artificial intelligence is highly welcomed and a necessity not just for the tech sector but the UK economy as a collective. The UK’s productivity woes need little introduction, but the arrival of artificial intelligence and automation can go some way to addressing these.

“Let’s be clear, this pledge from the government today is a step in the right direction but the UK is in a global race when it comes to the adoption of AI technology, and it cannot afford to lose. While today’s pledge is an excellent start, other countries are investing far more in AI.

“Today’s pledge from government must act as a catalyst for cross-industry investment in this technology, with bold new ways of working created and AI front and centre.

“The real value of AI is in its power to help us understand information and make decisions in a fraction of the time it took before. The technology augments our abilities and raises the bar on what we can achieve, freeing employees from repetitive tasks and allowing them to focus on what will bring more value to them and the business.

“This investment will not only help UK workers excel and prosper in our increasingly digital world, but ensure the UK collectively is not left behind as disruptive innovation transforms the way in which we work and live.”

PROPERTY

Christian Faes, Co-Founder & CEO of LendInvest

“Philip Hammond has shown that this is a government that’s finally ready to intervene in the property market, and this will be welcomed by industry.”

Darius Ziatabari, co-founder of property developer Equinox Living

“Today’s encouraging commitment of £44bn over the next five years to support the housing market reminds me of the most recent boon for developers, when permitted development rights came into play back in May 2013.

“Hopefully these new policies will make a similar difference, although we often see the same policies being interpreted differently by local councils, which creates confusion. It is reassuring to see policies aimed at making development faster, but only time will tell whether these are enforced properly and for how long they will be delayed.

“Along with the continued Help to Buy scheme, the abolition of Stamp Duty for first-time buyers up to £300k will be very effective in terms of boosting activity. However, it would also be wise for the government to address a reduction in stamp duty in properties over £1m, as well as the excessive levy on buy-to-lets, which has crushed liquidity in these markets.

“Studies have shown that with lower stamp duties, more transactions will take place, and thus more revenue will be made by the government.”

Parul Scampion, COO at Fruition Properties

“Hammond’s plans to support smaller developers by improving access to funding, skills and land marks a positive step towards tackling the chronic lack of housing in the UK.

“While encouraging to see that the Chancellor has acknowledged the need to invest significantly in training new construction workers, the Government needs to realise the scale of the problem particularly given the uncertainty around the availability of European workers following Brexit.

“A lack of skilled workers has been an inhibiting factor for many years and will be one of the main barriers to delivering increased housing units particularly in London, even with this boost to training new construction workers.

“By abolishing stamp duty for a healthy portion of first time buyer purchases, the Government has seized a golden opportunity to remove at least one element of the fiscal drag created by layers of incremental SDLT. This will go one step towards creating a healthy, frictionless process which will increase liquidity in the housing market and therefore mobility for the job market; both of which are important factors for a thriving economy.”

STARTUPS AND SMALL BUSINESSES

Su Weeks, project manager of CRL

“Philip Hammond has made some announcements that will greatly benefit small businesses and encourage new entrepreneurs to launch new business. This is a strong move ahead of Brexit.

“With more and more entrepreneurs and young business startups looking into Europe and beyond for better opportunities in investment, growth and tax relief. With the cap on the VAT threshold at £85k, the removal of the staircase tax (a big win) and the switch to CPI for business rates, the government seem to be looking towards smaller business and startups to grow our economy and make Brexit less bitter.”

TECH

Carlos Legrange, CEO and co-founder of Sunlight

“It’s promising to see the Government placing an emphasis on digital skills and in retraining the workforce. There is a huge demand for employees in the tech sector, and this is only going to get worse.

“Whilst the emphasis on training is great to see, we want to see more promises that help companies retain talent and that it remains here in the UK. Training is one thing, but we could risk losing the most talented to other countries if the benefits of living there outweigh those in this country.”

Norris Koppel, CEO of Monese

“As always it is good to hear promises of further funding being provided for the tech industry for future investments into growing businesses. To also hear that any shortfall in funding that once came from the EU will also be replaced by the UK government will more than likely have made a fair few founders and UK-based investors relax.

“But now it’s time to see this in action. If the Chancellor wants to see a new tech business created every half hour, and a fair portion of these expanding and creating jobs, it’s likely the sector will need a further injection of capital much sooner than he might think.”

THE NHS

Chris McCullough, CEO and co-founder of Rotageek

“As a former NHS doctor, I am delighted to see the government commit to an extra £2.8bn in funding for NHS in England. What matters now is identifying where this additional budget will be allocated.

“Ensuring the NHS is fit for purpose in the long-term must involve large-scale investment that will facilitate the digital transformation needed across the NHS.

“Employees must feel able to control their work-life balance, or we will continue to see doctors and nurses switching to agencies. Implementing intelligent digital staff scheduling, that enables employees to have input into their own rotas, is one way the NHS could deliver here.”

BREXIT

Shara Pledger, solicitor at Latitude Law

“The Chancellor’s setting aside of £3bn over the next two years in preparation for Brexit is entirely necessary, as it appears more likely every day that the UK is going to crash out without any semblance of an agreed deal.

“However, throwing money at the situation is actually unhelpful without some sort of a strategy and the move illustrates the government’s lack of a ‘plan B’ to the negotiations not going its way - which of course they currently aren’t.

“My major concern as a business immigration lawyer is the lack of any type of commitment by the government, both in the Budget and an ongoing basis, to ensuring that businesses across the UK continue to be able to source the best international talent to support enterprise growth.”

Rohit Talwar and Steve Wells at Fast Future

“Today’s budget highlights the scale of the challenges faced by the Chancellor - navigating Brexit, declining growth forecasts, an uncertain national and global economic outlook, stubborn levels of social inequality…

The opportunity here was to provide a bold vision of what a post-Brexit UK could look like, with a positive story that would act as a magnet for global investment and a motivator for the UK citizen. What could this look like - and what would most people agree on?

“Well, a vibrant Britain in 2025 would ideally be making massive progress in eradicating inequality and complex social issues, be making deep and persistent investment in the technologies and industries of the future, and undertaking a massive overhaul of the housing stock and public infrastructure.

“A critical enabler would be to have the fastest broadband access on the planet - both to serve the citizenry and to attract and encourage the growth businesses of the future.”