AA comment on the Budget

Commenting on today’s budget, Sue Eustace, Director of Public Affairs, Advertising Association, said:

“The Budget today has focused on measures to boost growth and productivity to help companies and people during the most challenging economic times in living memory.

There is more to be done but it is interesting to see the Chancellor’s announcement of a new Industrial Strategy focused on encouraging growth and productivity. This aligns well with the core function of advertising which is itself a key driver of economic growth, competition and innovation and creator of jobs across the nations and regions of the UK.

We need to encourage inward investment and to create an environment that facilitates technological innovation that will give the UK a leading edge.  Hence, the Chancellor’s announcements around AI, R&D tax reform, and innovation clusters are interesting measures that can help boost a business environment where advertising and marketing firms can thrive in a global market. This is important as the Advertising Association’s UK Advertising Exports Group completes another successful trade mission, in partnership with DBT, which showcased the advertising industry’s innovation and technical excellence in creative services at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

On the day of the advertising industry’s second ‘All In’ Census, helping us take the industry’s inclusion action plan, All In, to the next level, we welcome new measures to help enable under-represented groups.  Today’s announcements will turbo-charge initiatives by businesses and industry sectors by introducing voluntary schemes to help those with disabilities into the workplace, as well as helping the over 50s and parents with childcare needs to get back into work.

We will however continue to urge the Government to consider reforms to the apprenticeship levy to ensure it is more flexible and workable for businesses.”