Treading Water 1,200 SMEs Demand Budget Lifeline from Chancellor
Small businesses across the country are calling on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to deliver meaningful support in this week’s Budget, warning that rising costs and increasing financial pressures are stifling growth and threatening the survival of local firms.
Seafood supplier Venture Seafoods, based in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, said surging energy bills and rising operating costs have pushed traders and households to breaking point.
Director Gary Hodgson said many firms have no room left to cope with further financial strain. “Most small businesses now are treading water. They have not got any fiscal headroom,” he said.
The government has been approached for comment.
‘Every cost has gone up’
Venture Seafoods was founded in 2002 by brothers Gary and John Hodgson. The company supplies shellfish caught off the Holderness coast to customers in the UK and exports to Europe and Asia.
Gary said the business supports local fishermen, provides local jobs and works with suppliers across the region. But he warned that soaring overheads are threatening long term viability.
“Last month our gas, water and electricity charges were over thirty three thousand pounds,” he said. “Twenty two thousand five hundred of that was electricity alone, and within that was a climate change levy of one thousand one hundred pounds.”
He argued that the levy is unnecessary. “We are not wasting energy. We cannot afford to waste energy. The electricity bill itself is already encouragement to reduce our usage.”
He said increases in National Insurance, the minimum wage and transport costs have pushed every item on the balance sheet higher. “There is not a single cost that has not increased,” he added.
Looking ahead to the Budget, he said he is “a little bit concerned”, adding, “My feeling is that at the moment this government does not have a grip on public finances.”
‘There is no incentive to grow’
Dress specialists Red Carpet Ready in Lincoln, which supplies clothing for special events and red carpets, said current business costs discourage expansion and investment.
Owner Kirsty Gale said the company, which now turns over two million pounds a year, cannot expand to a larger premises because rates are “too risky” even for a successful firm.
“The government needs to seriously consider National Insurance,” she said. “In April it went up from 13.8 percent to 15 percent. That is not encouraging me to take on full time staff.”
She also criticised business rates, saying they deter new entrepreneurs from taking the plunge. “I cannot see any support that gives people the ambition to take those risks,” she added.
Labour MP for Lincoln Hamish Falconer said he wants the Budget to support firms like Gale’s. “The question for me is being able to support businesses of all sizes, both the really small ones and the big growing ones like Kirsty’s.”
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Chamber survey shows falling turnover and rising prices
The concerns come as the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce released its latest Quarterly Economic Survey for 2025. The survey found widespread uncertainty, falling turnover and rising prices among members across the region.
David Hooper, external affairs director at the Chamber, said National Insurance and minimum wage increases have left many businesses struggling.
“With another Budget on the horizon, there is an awful lot of trepidation and concern,” he said.
In her October 2024 Budget, Reeves confirmed that firms would face higher National Insurance contributions and a rise in the minimum wage.
Hooper said the message from businesses is clear. “Do not put extra cost on business. They cannot afford it. They do not need it. They need the government to support them and encourage them to invest and drive the economy, not slow it down.”
