Small businesses in East of England 'part of solution' to UK growth
The Chancellor's due to announce her Spring Spending Review today
A group representing businesses in the East of England believes small firms need to play a bigger part in helping the economy grow.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to announce her Spring Spending Review, with cuts across different Government departments expected to be made.
In Ms Reeves' Autumn Budget, businesses were faced with rises in National Insurance contributions from next month.
"As a country, we need to be growing the economy; that's got to be the number one priority," Candy Richards, from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said.
"The big challenge is if we don't support small businesses to be part of the solution, that growth is never going to happen."
'Nervousness' for firms
A survey by the FSB found 33% of firms said they are looking to cut jobs.
New measures in the Employment Rights Bill - due to come into place in Autumn 2026 - include people being entitled to sick pay from their first day.
They also include workers having the right to claim unfair dismissal against their employer from day one.
Ms Richards believes some of these changes will add "more cost and red tape" to firms.
"There is a lot of nervousness from small businesses," she said.
"Small businesses are amazing employers who are close to their workforce, but if you make it more difficult for them to employ staff, they're going to be less likely to hire someone.
"Many businesses are sitting tight and they're not creating jobs, so that means cutting jobs at a time the Government wants to get more people into work.
"There needs to be something done to support small businesses to have the confidence to invest and create jobs."
Farmer concerned for the industry
31-year-old Eveey Hunter's an arable crops farmer in Hertfordshire, who's already facing hardship and growing challenges in the industry.
From fly-tipping to rural crime, farmers across the East of England feel they are sometimes fighting a losing battle to get food on the country's tables.
Eveey's heard rumours about today's spending review, and feels nervous ahead of the announcements.
"We sort of think, what are they gonna meddle in next? There's been rumours this week about them taking away red diesel and that really would be I'd say nail in the coffin, again, for farming.
There's concerns that the options for the industry will dwindle further if rumoured cuts are made later today.
"We're already struggling to produce affordable food, and if they took away red diesel, that would just not be viable."
Eveey believes farmer's will still keep fighting to produce the best quality produce for the UK, but is already diversifying as challenges for the industry continue to grow.
It's as changes already announced in the autumn budget to farmer's inheritance tax are due to be introduced in 2026.
What funding and support was announced for farmers in the last Budget?
At the Budget, the Chancellor also announced £5 billion to help farmers produce food over the next 2 years – this is the largest amount ever allocated for sustainable food production.
This is alongside £60 million for the Farming Recovery Fund which will help farmers recover from the impact of flooding. We are also investing £208 million in protecting the nation from outbreaks of serious diseases that threaten our farming industry, food security and human health.