HM Treasury

Theo Paphitis knows first-hand the value that small businesses bring to our economy, through his support of the sector via his 4,000+ strong SBS Small Business Sunday network. Starting in retail at 18, Theo has spent his career championing high street businesses and helping entrepreneurs to succeed. In government, we’re also working to support small businesses, and that’s why we more than doubled the employment allowance, to ensure a business can employ four full time National Living Wage workers before paying any national insurance, and why we confirmed full permanent expensing will continue, encouraging businesses to invest. Chancellor Rt Hon Rachel Reeves met Theo in Downing Street earlier today to discuss what else can be done to support SMEs and help retailers on the high street to thrive.

We are building on our strong relationship with India, to unlock more opportunities in the UK.   Today I welcomed some of India’s senior business leaders to Downing Street.   We discussed my government’s focus for our Plan for Change: to drive economic growth and deliver more money in people’s pockets across our country.

To improve living standards across the country, we need to drive growth, particularly in emerging industries and sectors with enormous future potential. That’s why, at Mansion House, the Chancellor revealed proposals aimed at unlocking up to £80bn in investment for innovative infrastructure projects and high-growth businesses. Today, Chancellor Rt Hon Rachel Reeves met AXA CEO Thomas Buberl to discuss the government’s strategy for boosting growth and attracting investment in communities across the UK.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has commissioned the OBR to prepare an economic and fiscal forecast which will be presented to Parliament alongside a statement on 26 March 2025. https://lnkd.in/ef3i32DH

Economic growth is vital for raising living standards across the UK. We're already off to a good start, with £63bn of investment announced at the International Investment Summit earlier this year, showing companies value the UK's place as a top tier destination for stability, growth, and talent. Today the Chancellor Rt Hon Rachel Reeves met the CEO Maxime Saada and CFO Amandine Ferre of CANAL+ Group, ahead of the companies listing on the LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) on Monday 16 December. She spoke about the government's commitment to growth, whether that be through proposals at Mansion House that could help to unlock around £80bn of investment for new infrastructure projects and businesses with high growth potential, or through our backing of the largest overhaul of UK listings rules in decades, helping more companies to invest here.

"When you shop local, you have this connection with your local area, you build a relationship over time with the shopkeeper and it also helps to build the community." Meet Lei, from Rouge Homeware Store. Her store has been part of Stoke Newington high street for 19 years, selling products from the far East to the local community. It provides a space for local people to shop, but also to build connections between staff and customers. We are celebrating small businesses like Lei's, which are the lifeblood of our high streets, and help communities up and down the country to thrive. So pop into your local market, café or boutique store to show your support. Together we can make a difference.

NEWS: Apple has surpassed an £18bn investment in the UK and has doubled its engineering team here over the past five years. The company now employs 550,000 jobs here through direct employment, its supply chain and the economy around its App Store. On the back of the International Investment Summit, which drove £63 billion worth of inward investment, this news from Apple shows that the world's largest and most valuable companies back the UK as a global hub for talent, expertise, and growth. Through attracting investments like these, we can improve growth and living standards for people across the UK. https://lnkd.in/dUMMe8TV

Our central mission is to kickstart economic growth.   The Chancellor sat down with senior business leaders this morning to discuss our Plan for Change, and how government and business can work together to boost investment and grow the economy.

Today, the Chancellor met Dean Forbes to discuss his journey and learn about his company, Forterro, which is driving growth and scaling operations across the UK and Europe. Dean is a successful business leader. CEO of Forterro – headquartered in the UK, and valued at €2 billion with an ambition to double in size by 2026. He is also a keen advocate for social mobility. He champions this through the Forbes Family Group, which works to support businesses and entrepreneurs through strategic networking events, funding, investment opportunities, as well as ongoing charity and community work.   Dean recently topped the Powerlist 2025, celebrating influential black Britons – recognising his distinguished career of leading tech companies through major transformations over the last 28 years and becoming one of the few black leaders of a tech unicorn. Growing up in a single-parent household on a housing estate in Lewisham, Dean faced immense hardship, including caring for his mum with muscular dystrophy, looking after his younger brothers, and experiencing homelessness in his life. Despite these challenges, Dean made it his mission to succeed, guided by his mum's advice to "always raise our expectations."   Like Dean, we also want to create a Britain where, regardless of background or upbringing, people have the opportunities and skills to succeed in life.   That's why we're rolling out initiatives like new breakfast clubs, helping more young children come to school ready to learn and do their best. We're also launching Skills England, a programme that will work with businesses, local government, and other key groups to identify skill gaps across the country, helping people acquire the skills and abilities they will need to succeed in the high-growth industries and careers of the future.   An important part of setting the right conditions to help people succeed is also through housing. That is why this government is committed to delivering 1.5 million safe and decent homes for families and individuals by the end of this Parliament.   To help people further, we're also working to fix vital public services they rely on, such as our National Health Service, with a £22.6bn increase in the day-to-day health budget—the largest real-terms growth in NHS spending outside of Covid since 2010.

We’ve launched our Spending Review 2025 Phase 2 representations portal. Here, you can provide feedback on government spending priorities and suggest policy ideas that could inform decisions about resource allocation over the Spending Review period. The portal will close Sunday 9 February 2025. Click below to have your say 👇 https://lnkd.in/eRFMmbic