Robert Lloyd Griffiths, Director of the Institute of Directors in Wales comments:
“The ‘nothing to see here’ approach adopted by the Chancellor will only fly for so long. I was pleased to hear mention of the Swansea City Deal making good progress and the government anticipating proposals for a Growth Deal for North Wales and we will continue to engage with both to work towards a favourable outcome.
“I was also particularly interested in the proposed National 5G Innovation Networkand the potential that will be available to our members if new technologies begin working alongside Welsh universities.
“An increase in minimum wage is also welcome news and business leaders will applaud the long-term focus on improving technical skills and investment in research and development, but the business community will have hoped for much more support in the immediate term, especially amid such economic and political uncertainty. The Business Rates relief, while modest, apply to England only and there was very little in the Budget to provide incentives for business to invest today when they are already putting projects on hold.
“The Chancellor’s jokes may have been funnier than anybody expected, but it will be business leaders’ resilience that will be needed to ensure we’re still smiling in November.”