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UK Tech Sector Outlines Demands for 2024 Spring Budge; Here are the Details

The prime minister is set to present the 2024 spring budget on Wednesday in what could be his last budget before the general election. Jeremy Hunt will be on a mission to attract voters, and polls suggest the Conservatives have a mountain to climb to retain power.

Labor has been trying to court UK tech and workers, and its recent financial report has been widely welcomed by founders, investors, and tech lobby groups. In the UK, the industrial ecosystem is taking a closer look at resources that can provide support in a country slipping into industrial recession.

R&D tax relief reform

R&D tax breaks, which provide financial incentives for companies investing in new technology, are universally supported by the UK technology sector. But many people would like to see the system more flexible and generous.

In 2022, the government announced plans to reduce R&D tax credits for start-ups to reduce fraud. In last year’s Autumn Statement, the Chancellor welcomed some of that change by increasing the number of SMEs receiving grants. The changes have been welcomed but the tech sector says the government still has a long way to go in making the system more robust.

Reversal of angel investor rule change

One of the UK tech industry’s top priorities is to overturn angel investing rules that disproportionately exclude underrepresented investors. At the end of January, new rules moved to increase the wealth threshold for sophisticated investor status which opens up more funding opportunities from £100,000 to £170,000.

The changes have been widely criticized by groups such as the lobby group Startup Coalition and the ‘InvestHER’ campaign gained significant traction calling for the changes to be reversed.

Support in a specific field

Given the scale of growth and the need to tackle environmental risk, the Spring Budget calls for the government from the tech community to “provide a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transition to finance in a clean, green and inexpensive environment”, said 2017 Diane Gilpin. CEO of Smart Green Shipping.

Gilpin called for the creation of a “Green Universal Wealth Fund” that would incentivize millions into the green transition. There have also been calls for Spring Budget measures to ease regulatory burdens in specific tech subsectors.

Skills training

Skills shortage concerns continue as the workforce ages, chronic sickness absence rises and employers struggle to fill vacancies. Liz Sebag-Montefiore, the founder of 10Eighty, told HR magazine she hoped the vice-chancellor would invest in skills training to address the skills crisis.

He said: “It is important to upgrade the skills of our workforce and invest in reskilling. The key to future growth and prosperity lies in skills development, the Prime Minister will encourage more flexible training so we can tackle skills shortages, which is a major problem in many industries.

A recent study by AI and analytics software provider SAS found that HR benefited the most from government support for AI, which showed that it came from organizations that needed support to implement AI in their HR function.

Other policies requested in the Spring Budget could have a significant impact on the UK tech sector. Robin Scott, chief executive and co-founder of Apolitical, said government funding for free childcare would open up more growth for UK tech businesses.

“Entrepreneurs and start-up employees in small businesses often have to work long hours, which those working for larger employers are not flexible,” Scott said. This creates a double barrier for women entrepreneurs who are already struggling to get anything close to an equal share of investment.

Conclusion: The 2024 Summer Budget provides an opportunity for the UK government to demonstrate its commitment to supporting the tech sector’s growth and innovation strategy. By addressing key requirements identified by the tech industry, the government can drive a vibrant and competitive digital economy that promotes prosperity and creates opportunities for all.