As a business that delivers large-scale digital transformation to the UK public sector, we care about how policy shapes our operating environment. And as the co-founder and CFO of Scrumconnect, a thriving British SME, I am mostly reassured by what I saw in the Chancellor’s inaugural Spring Statement.
The government’s emphasis on economic growth and stability is evident. From a business standpoint there are several positive takeaways.
One clear positive is the renewed focus on growth and investment. The Statement explicitly notes that “growth is the central mission of the government”, underpinned by measures to restore stability and drive up prosperity.
This pro-growth stance is encouraging for a company like ours. It signals a policy environment that values expansion and higher productivity. It’s good to see the government’s mood around the roles that organisations like ours play in societal and economic growth.
The government’s plans to invest in infrastructure and skills as growth stimulation levers are very encouraging. The Statement speaks of an investment of “£13 billion more in capital infrastructure over the next five years,” and “an ambition to build 1.5 million homes this Parliament,” alongside training and upskilling “up to 60,000 more skilled workers”. Such investments in roads, housing and training not only stimulate the economy but can indirectly benefit SMEs by improving our operating environment. From the perspective of my company, a drive towards infrastructure will require investments in technology and digital transformation to enable it. Tied with other government initiatives, like the new Procurement Bill, it is likely that SME digital transformation specialists will play a much greater role in the delivery of these investments. Additionally, because better infrastructure means smoother logistics for business, and with more skilled workers in the economy (even if they end up being mostly construction-focused), the wider economy will benefit positively from the ripple effects. For example, the Office for Budget Responsibility expects planning reforms alone to add £6.8 billion to our economy by the 2029-30 fiscal year, giving a very clear signal that cutting red tape to boost building will tangibly lift economic growth.
As a financial leader, seeing these numbers gives me confidence that demand in the wider economy is being bolstered, which ultimately feeds into business growth opportunities.
The push to support R&D and high-growth sectors creates the confidence needed to innovate.
The Statement spoke of a consultation on “widening the use of advance clearances in R&D tax credits to help reduce error and fraud, provide certainty to businesses, and improve the customer experience.” This might sound technical, but for a tech-focused SME it’s important.
It means the government is looking to make R&D tax relief claims more straightforward and reliable. In the past, companies have sometimes been unsure if a project qualifies for R&D credit or worried about clawbacks, so this effort to “provide certainty to businesses” is a positive step. It removes the uncertainty of deploying highly-paid, highly-skilled talent on high-cost R&D initiatives that may or may not qualify for tax relief under the old system.
If it gets implemented as I hope, then the opaqueness around R&D credits falls away. Knowing that our investment in, say, some new AI IP that we’d like to develop has a predictable tax treatment will help us to plan and take calculated risks in innovation. As CFO, I find this type of clarity reassuring when allocating budget to long-term or high-risk projects. It will also help drive Britain’s ambition to be a global hub of digital innovation.
Alongside this, the Statement’s additional funding for innovation in areas like defence, on top of “boosting Research and Development (R&D) and innovation", suggests a broader commitment to tech and innovation which is likely to spill over into the private sector.
The government is doubling down on its drive to modernise through digitalisation
The Statement confirms the continued rollout of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax, finally bringing more taxpayers into the digital era of accounting. According to the Statement, “MTD places UK businesses on a digital footing, prepares them for the future, [and] gives them the tools they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive landscape”.
This is exactly the philosophy we champion as a digital transformation firm. When HMRC and government services go digital, it nudges the whole business community toward efficiency. From a CFO’s desk, digital tax records mean less paperwork, fewer errors, and easier compliance, all of which save time and money. I’m pleased that sole traders and landlords will also be included from 2028 under MTD because it signals that eventually even the smallest businesses will benefit from modernised systems.
Investments from the new Transformation Fund to digitise public services, including funding to create and deploy AI pilots in government, show that the UK is embracing technology to improve efficiency. For a technology SME, this provides a valuable commercial opportunity for Scrumconnect to get behind. It is a welcome cultural shift at the national level too, giving optimism that outdated processes and ways of working will continue to be modernised.
The macroeconomic stability underscored in the Spring Statement is a positive backdrop for us as an SME.
The Chancellor says tough decisions from the Autumn Budget are starting to pay off, with interest rates falling, real wages rising, and the economy forecast to grow faster than expected. As a CFO, I’m cautious about forecasts, but a stable outlook helps with planning investment and hiring. Lower borrowing costs and more consumer spending create room for digital upgrades. The government also seems to be keeping its finances in check, meeting fiscal rules early. That kind of stability is exactly what businesses need to make decisions with confidence.
While big-picture initiatives like defence spending boosts, large infrastructure projects, housing investments are vital for the country, they don’t directly ease the day-to-day pressures on SME’s.
While this isn’t a concern for Scrumconnect, many small British firms are still grappling with high operating costs and other expenses like high street business rates. I didn’t hear anything about reliefs or extensions on those in this Statement. The government did previously commit to “reforming the business rates system to support the High Street and boost investment”, but all we got from this Statement was the promise of an interim report in the summer. From my vantage point, that feels like a missed opportunity to help businesses facing cash-flow challenges this year.
Similarly, while broad investment in skills is great, there wasn’t a programme akin to a “Help to Grow” digital scheme or new tax relief aimed squarely at SME’s. The Statement’s measures will improve the economic environment in general, but more immediate, direct support, like grants for digital adoption or a temporary tax break for SME capital investment, would have been very welcome to spur grassroot and local growth.
Regulatory reforms are positive. But they may not materialise quickly enough to make a difference.
The plan to cut compliance costs by 25% is excellent in theory, but as a CFO I know how slow and complex regulatory change can be.
Organisations like mine are still dealing with burdensome processes today, from lengthy procurement tenders to complicated tax returns. These won’t vanish overnight. The Statement acknowledges the need to “tackle complexity, reduce uncertainty and challenge excessive risk aversion” in regulation, which is spot on. My concern is the pace and enforcement of these changes. Will we actually see simpler reporting rules for SMEs in the next year or two, or will this be tied up in consultations and white papers for ages?
Until then, it remains a hopeful promise and we have to continue navigating the current maze of rules. In this regard, I’ll be watching the upcoming “Regulation Action Plan” and its implementation closely. It needs to deliver more than just a lighter rulebook for it to truly benefit SMEs; it should also make regulators more responsive and remove duplicate or outdated requirements. If it drags on or gets watered down, that would be a disappointment for businesses like ours.
Plugging the skills gap needs to go beyond construction.
It’s great that the government is funding tens of thousands of new training places, but these are largely aimed at construction and trade apprenticeships. By contrast, there wasn’t much said about developing digital skills or addressing the shortage of tech talent that many organisations in our industry face.
Accessing skilled talent is even harder for SME technology companies which are competing in the same pool that large players with deep pockets are. Scrumconnect has an ambition to grow to 1,000 people within a couple of years. But this ambition is constrained if we can’t hire enough skilled developers, and specialists in the other digital capabilities we provide.
I would have liked to see a mention of extending something like the existing successful apprenticeship or “boot camp” model to the digital sector, perhaps providing greater financial incentives for tech SMEs to take on even more apprentices and early talent.
It feels like the digital economy wasn’t explicitly addressed in the skills agenda this time. This is a concern because it signals a slight misalignment between government ambition around its AI Opportunities Action Plan, and funding it is putting in place to create the talent that will deliver it.
An absence of business rate cuts, or relief for SME’s was disappointing and may slightly stall the speed of growth
The Chancellor did not announce any new tax cuts or relief for businesses, instead sticking mostly to the course set in the last Budget. That means corporation tax is now at its higher rate and will stay that way. For an SME like ours, paying the full 25% rate on profits is a significant outgoing. It means that organisationally we will end up growing one quarter less than our real potential.
It’s true the government needs revenue to manage debt and fund public services, but I have to balance that against our ability to reinvest earnings into new talent and growing Scrumconnect.
The Statement touts a “stable and predictable tax environment to encourage investment” which I appreciate because nobody wants sudden surprises, but predictability alone doesn’t lessen the sting of a high tax bill.
Without further incentives, some businesses might hold off investment. For example, if there had been an extension or enhancement of the Annual Investment Allowance or R&D credits specifically for SMEs, it could offset the impact of higher corporation tax. The Statement did mention the Corporate Tax Roadmap and ongoing consultations for “greater tax certainty” on major projects and R&D, which are helpful in the long term. But many SMEs operate on tight margins and smaller financial resources like cash in bank. They could use relief sooner.
In summary, the Spring Statement 2025 offers a mix of practical policies and long-term vision that I find mostly reassuring.
Running a growing business is never easy, but with thoughtful policies and open dialogue, we can hope the government’s Plan for Change truly translates into an environment where the tens of thousands of British companies like ours can flourish.
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