Norfolk business leaders share their Autumn Budget hopes

Below, five business leaders representing agriculture, housing, construction, SME's and the aviation sector share their hopes and predictions for Rachel Reeves' second November budget announcement. 
 
Explaining their sector's pain points, current challenges and ambitions for the future, they share their personal views, based on real industry insight; revealing what they feel needs to change, and how the government can demonstrate tangible support for UK businesses, helping to realise Norfolk's untapped potential for growth. 

It is clear from these comments that Norfolk business leaders have the ambition, experience and expertise needed to ensure our county can contribute even more to the UK economy.  What comes next? We wait for the 26 November announcements.  

Read on for Autumn Budget hopes from seven Norfolk business leaders:

Nick Steven-Jones, chief executive officer of Jarrolds and Chair of the Norfolk Business Board 

"Last October's Budget gave us some stability, but for many Norfolk businesses it didn't go far enough. Skills shortages, infrastructure gaps and rising costs are still major challenges, especially in our rural and coastal areas. We're seeing real potential across sectors like clean energy, agri-tech and advanced manufacturing, but without the right investment and advocacy that potential is not being realised. 

"This November we want to see a Budget that backs areas such as Norfolk with long-term funding, better support for skills and innovation and a demonstrable commitment to inclusive, sustainable growth. Give us the funding and practical support so we can invest in our people, boost productivity and unlock growth across all parts of the county, not just the usual hotspots." 

Mark Gorton, founder and managing director of Traditional Norfolk Poultry Limited and member of the Norfolk Business Board  

"The farming sector has been totally let down by the government, with all the promises leading up to the General Election seeming to have ebbed away.  

Changes to the IHT (inheritance tax) strategy would be the biggest thing the Chancellor could do to start to rebuild confidence in the agricultural sector. 

The government also needs to protect and support what we produce in the UK and limit imports that undercut our farmers on both price and quality. They could very easily introduce legislation that would encourage markets to buy British first." 

Matt Smith, chief financial officer, Place UK, Norfolk Ambassador 

"Our industry is heavily reliant on manual labour: changes to both the employer's national insurance rate and earnings threshold added £0.4m to our payroll bill.  For context, over 60% of the cost of a strawberry is labour and since 2018, payroll inflation has increased cumulatively by 87%, yet the price that we receive for British grown fruit has only increased by 37% in this time. 

"2025 also sees the end of the DEFRA Producer Organisation scheme but nothing has been brought forward to replace it, bringing further uncertainty into the sector.  Given the above, in November's budget there needs to be a strong commitment to British farming; any changes to the tax rate will make it harder for us to attract seasonal workers to come and harvest our fruit. We also need to see Baroness Minette Batters' report on 'British Farming Profitability' to be published and recommendations adhered to. The loss of innovation funding through the ending of the Producer Organisation scheme means the likelihood of imported fruit being on shelf in supermarkets during the height of the British summer. If the Government is serious about supporting British farming, they need to be providing encouragement for us to expand, innovate and ensure food security within Britain." 

Amy Griffiths, chief executive of The Feed and member of the Norfolk Business Board 

"The VCSE sector continues to face a "triple squeeze": increasing costs, reduced or precarious funding, and rising demand for services.  This November we hope to see measures that recognise the VCSE sector's central role in delivering inclusive growth and prevention, aligned with the Norfolk Growth Plan and Action Plan. Sustained, strategic investment is essential to ensure that organisations can continue to deliver vital services, strengthen local capacity, and contribute to equitable economic development.  

Timely decision-making must also be prioritised, as well as flexible funding, tax relief measures for charities, investment in workforce development and volunteering infrastructure, backing for place-based partnerships that foster innovation, prevention, and inclusive economic participation, and investment in infrastructure support to ensure a resilient, well-connected, and sustainable VCSE ecosystem." 

Chris Spinks, managing director, Westcotec, Norfolk Ambassador 

"I would like to see recognition that SMEs are the backbone of this country's economy. Yes, individually they don't contribute the same as a global giant, but collectively they certainly do.  

SMEs need to be supported and not seen as the easy target for increasing revenue into the exchequer, while the giants get away with paying little or no contribution into the UK economy.  

The rumoured increase in business rates for "large" businesses with a rateable value of over £500k is, I feel, very counterproductive and a prime example of the above injustice. 

I'm looking for a much more forward thinking and innovative budget with some risks being taken to increase economic growth and, whilst not fixing things overnight, we do need some more long-term measures." 

Professor Saul D Humphrey LLP (B Corp), Senior Vice President of Chartered Institute of Building, Professor of Sustainable Construction at Anglia Ruskin University, Chair of the Institute of Directors and Building Growth and Ambassador for Construction East, Norfolk Ambassador  

"Across the business, construction and professional sectors, confidence remains low. Many firms report postponed investment decisions as uncertainty and cost escalation bite. 

Housing schemes are slowing or stalling as commercial viability is tested and planning, regulatory and compliance challenges grow. Refurbishment and retrofit projects, crucial to reducing embodied carbon, also remain penalised by VAT, which stands at 20% for retrofit but 0% for new build. This imbalance drives demolition, waste and carbon emissions precisely when we should be conserving and upgrading existing assets. 

My personal hope is for a budget that restores business certainty while accelerating the transition to a more sustainable, more regenerative built environment. We must move from a 'build more' mindset to a 'build better' philosophy." 

Nadine Tapp, head of group academy, Flagship Group, Norfolk Ambassador  

"Housing delivery is, rightly, front and centre of government thinking, but the skills gap remains the single biggest blocker to hitting the 1.5m homes target. Skills must be treated as critical infrastructure alongside funding certainty and a simpler, more flexible investment system. 

We welcome the National Housebuilding Council's call for £100m investment in multi-skill training hubs and 3,000 new apprentices annually. That kind of ambitious, sector-led infrastructure is exactly what is needed. We also need funding certainty, recognition of training organisations as delivery partners, and policies that make it easier, not harder, to recruit and retain apprentices. 

Through Bromford Flagship's Learning Academy, we are training people, building partnerships, are ready to scale. What we need now is a Budget that treats skills development as infrastructure, not an afterthought."  

Alex Durand, chief executive officer of Saxon Air, Norfolk Ambassador  

"I'd like to see the Chancellor be brave enough to invest in long term strategic infrastructure initiatives, including education and transport overhaul, not short-term media led reactions (e.g. immigration reforms, frequent flyer taxes).  

From an industry perspective, my message to the Chancellor would be, please don't repeat last year's attack on business aviation. Instead, continue to incentivise the transition to sustainable aviation products, and take the aviation industry's lead; mandating other transport sectors to have tangible net zero targets with the financial pressures to remove carbon emissions." 

Adam Goymour, director, Goymour Group, Norfolk Ambassador 

"The cumulative effect of increases in NIC, NLW, inflationary pressures, paying off covid loans and the effects on the ongoing cost of living crisis has made 2025 our hardest year, even surpassing COVID. Lack of GDP growth and public spending power has severely impacted our industry's ability and confidence to invest in growth. 

"I'd like to see a lower VAT threshold for tourism and hospitality, energy prices capped, business rates relief maintained, investment in domestic marketing to encourage staycations, and improvements to transport infrastructure to improve visitors' journey experience and travel times.   

"We are not in a good trading environment.  Whilst footfall is OK, this is purely a vanity metric.  We need increased public spend and, unfortunately, our visitors simply don't have spare money.  The cost of running a business continues to rise and visitors cannot afford to pay the necessary price rises, which creates some real issues for tourism businesses." 

Get involved in the Autumn Budget conversation over on our LinkedIn page.

Published: Published: 24 November 2025