John Dickie, director of Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland

This Budget puts the next generation last and sets it up to be the poorest for decades. The Chancellor ignored the one in five children in Scotland and the 3.7 million children across the UK who are in poverty now, and the fact that, according to IFS projections we face the biggest increase in child poverty in a generation.

The Chancellor delivered some big investments for the better off but there was little for hard-up parents trying to become better off by earning more. Increasing the personal tax allowance is an expensive way to badly target help for the low paid. For every £1,000 the allowance goes up, basic rate taxpayers gain £200, but Universal Credit rules will claw back 65 per cent of that from the low paid, leaving a maximum of £70 a year.

Improving children’s life chances starts with ensuring families have enough money. That means restoring cuts to Universal Credit – which from April will hit the working families as would have been hit by the now-abandoned tax credit cuts – and re-investing in children’s benefits.

The triple lock on pensioners’ income has achieved huge falls in poverty. Extending the same protection to children must be the priority.


Rob Gowans, policy officer at Citizens Advice Scotland 

Yesterday’s Budget for once brought no unwelcome surprises in terms of the social security system, but the confirmation of changes to Personal Independence Payments means disabled people are set to lose entitlements that support them to live an independent life.

With around 400,000 people across the UK set to see their entitlement cut, and 200,000 expected to lose their entitlement to disability benefits altogether, vulnerable Scots will lose out by up to £3,000 per year. Citizens Advice Scotland is extremely concerned about this change. PIP is already one of the largest and fastest-growing issues that Scots come to a CAB for advice about, with more than 29,000 enquiries last year.

Many of those affected will face a double hit with forthcoming changes to Employment Support Allowance meaning they will lose a further £29 per week. With disability benefits set to be devolved, this means further cuts to the budget available to create a new Scottish social security system.

The new Help to Save initiative for people on Working Tax Credit is interesting but we will want to see a lot more of the detail on how this is to be set up. Access to credit for people on low incomes has been getting more difficult for the last few years, so moves to help people build up a small savings cushion is welcome.


Bruce Walker, founder/chief executive of WeAreTheFuture 

Part of my job involves working with entrepreneurs all over the world, developing and understanding how global entrepreneurship ecosystems work and the role of public and private sector in that ecosystem.

It was positive to read that the Government recognises the rapid growth of the digital and sharing economy. With a record 5.4 million private-sector businesses starting in 2015, support for micro-entrepreneurs and the self-employed is key. Entrepreneurs and small businesses are the backbone of the UK economy, accounting for 99.3 per cent of business.

The Budget highlighted support for entrepreneurs, primarily through reductions in Capital Gains Tax. From my experience, reduction in tax is good but it doesn’t truly address the real challenges entrepreneurs and businesses face. If the Government is really committed to backing business and enterprise to drive up productivity growth and create jobs, it needs to focus on greater access to talent, internationalisation and role models.

There is a global shortage of big data and technology talent. As part of our ambition to address this issue in Scotland, on the day the Budget was announced WeAreTheFuture, in partnership with The Data Lab and MBN Solutions, hosted Data Talent Scotland, the country’s largest data and technology event, bringing together more than 500 students from 11 universities.

This Budget doesn’t really get to the root of what entrepreneurs need to grow. My recommendation would be that they focus on greater support for enterprise support organisations and allow the private sector to drive support for entrepreneurs.


Dougal Sharp, founder and master brewer of Scottish craft brewery Innis & Gunn

It’s good news that beer duty has been frozen. Most in the industry would have been hoping for at least that. We are supportive of all initiatives that benefit beer drinkers.

Amid praise of the freeze, it should be said that the UK beer market has entered an era that is governed less by incremental shifts in price and more by the quality of product and the variety available to customers. The dawn of this era is perfectly exemplified by the continued success of craft beer pubs in the face of a general trend of weekly pub closures across the country.

People becoming more discerning about what beer they drink is the reason the craft beer movement has flourished. We don’t expect this trend will be reversed.


Niall Stuart, chief executive of Scottish Renewables

The lack of any further support for new renewable energy projects this side of April 2021 will be a major blow to large parts of the industry. Likewise, there was no mention of any framework to support investment in the cheapest forms of renewable power – onshore wind and solar. That sits at odds with the Government’s commitment to cutting carbon emissions at the lowest cost to consumers. It also means they are the only two technologies expected to compete on the wholesale price alone.

Scotland’s islands remain in limbo, with no signal that they will be able to bid for future contracts at a price that enables them to absorb the massive grid charges that projects on the islands will face. The Government is clearly committed to supporting the continued growth of offshore wind, but it is going to be extremely challenging for industry to meet the cost reduction target set out, especially with the limited level of capacity that the Budget can support.


Lynda Thomas, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support UK

The Chancellor confirmed worrying plans to change Personal Independence Payment (PIP) which could make it harder for people with cancer to claim the benefit. Thousands of people with cancer suffer life-changing problems during and after treatment, which means they require a lot of practical and financial support. Eroding benefits which help with this could have a profoundly negative impact on their ability to live independently. Many people who need support with basic tasks, such as getting dressed and using the toilet, may now fail to get the required number of “points” to qualify. The Government has stated its intention to consider the case for wider reform of disability benefits. Such reforms simply must not lead to the reduction of support for people affected by cancer.


Ian McDougall FCCA, managing director of McDougall Johnstone and finance spokesperson for Business for Scotland 

On the surface, the Chancellor’s support for Aberdeen and the oil and gas sector is positive – we welcome any support in challenging times. However, behind the smoke and mirrors it’s clear to see an opportunity missed – scrapping the supplementary charge completely and pledging tax incentives for the exploration of new fields would have more impact.

For the last five years the Chancellor has been ignoring the warnings from the IMF and eminent economists that cutting budgets before increasing productivity and wages would be damaging to the UK recovery and again we have seen these warnings ignored.

The Chancellor’s response to this black hole in his finances is to once again cut spending and offer cheap handouts, such as a risible one per cent reduction in Corporation Tax in 2020 – something which was hailed as a “race to the bottom” when the SNP put cutting Corporation Tax into the White Paper – and a £1000 allowance for so-called new age digital businesses.

This Budget has proven one thing – the Chancellor has no idea what is required to generate growth for business in the UK. His ideological austerity project has failed and his continued reliance on austerity represents a kindergarten level of understanding of economics.


Mark Gregory, EY’s chief economist

The Chancellor told us the long-term economic plan is the only way forward and then proceeded to detail a huge range of new policies from education to a sugar tax. We saw the now-traditional promises on devolution and infrastructure but, based on the OBR’s forecast, there’s little sign they will have a material impact on boosting GDP or efficiency. Amid warnings of global risks and the Chancellor highlighting the potential negative impact of Brexit, there were only a few measures to encourage businesses to invest more or faster.


Phil Charles, head of enterprise for KPMG in Scotland

While some measures in the Budget seem to increase Corporation Tax for larger companies through loss relief and interest deduction restrictions, entrepreneurs and private capital have benefited. This seems to be a deliberate tilt of the pitch toward home-grown enterprise.

The corporation tax rate in the UK was already becoming even more competitive at 18 per cent from 2020, but this move to reduce that to 17 per cent makes it even more attractive to reinvest capital in a company for the longer term. The previously announced tax increases on dividends had already made the extraction of profits from a company unattractive with a top tax rate of 38.1 per cent.

The gap has been opened further with the proposed cut in CGT to 20 per cent and proposed introduction of a new Investor Relief. Therefore, there is little incentive to extract profits and much better to wait until a capital gain.


Bob Ruddiman, head of energy at Pinsent Masons 

Sugar tax will take the headlines but there was no sweetener for the oil and gas sector in the Budget. The Chancellor announced a reduction of the supplementary charge from 20 per cent to 10 per cent and abolished the Petroleum Revenue Tax. However, very few operators are paying those taxes. Both were designed for the good times.

There is some encouraging mood music on engagement around decommissioning liabilities, which would encourage investment into marginal fields, but detail is thin on the ground. The “certainty” on decommissioning promised in the Budget papers cannot come soon enough.

The cut in corporation tax is helpful but one can’t help feel there is an opportunity missed. There were options that would have been relatively inexpensive to the Exchequer. Industry would also have welcomed a deferral of the apprenticeship levy which would have cost nothing.

All-in-all, the Budget will add to a sense of frustration within the oil and gas industry that its plight – and its potential to drive future economic growth through export of technology and know-how – is not properly understood in Whitehall. The industry must keep engaging with the Oil & Gas Authority and both Governments to ensure the message gets through.


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