
Chamber outlines priorities ahead of Budget
The North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), representing nearly 2000 businesses employing around 40 per cent of the region’s workforce, has outlined its priorities ahead of the 2025 Autumn Budget.
Its submission stresses the need for fiscal clarity, targeted investment and policies that unlock economic potential across the North East.
Central to the Chamber’s recommendations are:
- 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.
Other recommendations include clarity on VAT thresholds for micro-businesses, reforms to address late payments, a review of Business Property Relief for family businesses and reversing the National Insurance increase for charities.
The submission aligns with the Chamber’s broader policy plan, Unlocking the North East Economy 2025-27.
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.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to deliver the Autumn Budget at 12.30pm tomorrow (Wednesday, November 26), when businesses will see which proposals are taken forward.
Read John's latest Bdaily column, in which he discusses the proposed Mayoral Development Zone and its potential to accelerate regeneration and unlock housing and commercial development, here.
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