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."
Café hoping for 'good' support
Omer Ozdemir has been running Botany Foodie - a Turkish and British café in Cambridge - for two years.
He said more customers are visiting his shop, which is close to Mill Road bridge where non-exempt vehicles will now be fined if they use this.
"The cost is getting more and more, and that's affected profit; if any grants will come, especially during the quiet season, that'll be a good support," he said.
"On Saturday and Sunday, it's booming and everyone is out but on the weekdays, it's a bit quiet.
"I don't know how they'll do something about it."
Plans to improve walking and cycling provision on Mill Road have been tabled by Cambridgeshire County Council, which the authority hopes will ease congestion along the street and tackle air quality.
Omer thinks the idea of pedestrianising the area could offer "an alternative" to the city centre for people visiting Cambridge.
But he feels more can be done to help businesses like his.
"I believe such a beautiful city like Cambridge needs more shops; I'm always positive, but also we need some kind of support from the Government."