Debate contribution: Autumn Statement 2024: Impact

Debate contribution by Ms Sinéad McLaughlin on 8 April 2025.

MLA

Ms Sinéad McLaughlin

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

8 April 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Committee Business

Heading

Autumn Statement 2024: Impact

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4919830

Read the official Assembly record

Text

— must be based on fairness, sustainability and, above all, support for those who create jobs and deliver essential services. Those sectors form the backbone of our economy, yet, the measures in the Budget fall short of addressing their critical needs. I will begin with some positives. The increase in the national minimum wage is a welcome step for many low-paid workers who are struggling to make ends meet, given rising rents, food prices and energy costs. However, while the wage increase is important, it is not a comprehensive solution to the cost-of-living crisis. When businesses are simultaneously burdened with higher National Insurance contributions and escalating overheads, we risk making it harder, not easier, for employers to maintain those pay increases in the long term. Across Northern Ireland, small businesses are telling us daily that they are under immense pressure. Many are still recovering from the combined impacts of Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing crisis in the cost of doing business. The Budget adds additional burdens without offering the necessary support to help those businesses adapt. The increase from 13·6% to 15% in the National Insurance contributions for employers is a concern and will, unfortunately, hit SMEs and social enterprises the hardest. At a time when we should be encouraging investment, growth and job creation, that increase could hinder businesses' ability to create jobs and invest in their staff. The impact on the community and voluntary sector is also severe. Those organisations provide vital services, whether that be through food banks, mental health support or crisis intervention, often stepping in where the Government have failed. However, despite their essential role, they are expected to absorb wage costs without additional funding. Financial uncertainty and one-year Budgets leave many of those organisations struggling to plan. The challenges do not end there. The recent spring statement introduced more cuts to welfare, including the decision to allow those who are under 22 to claim the health-related elements of universal credit. Additionally, for new claimants, the health-related elements of universal credit will not rise with inflation until 2030. That will have a devastating impact on those who are already struggling the most. At the same time, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has downgraded predicted growth for this year from 2% to 1%. That is a worrying sign that the UK economy is slowing down, yet the Budget fails to offer the necessary support to offset the risks. Let us not forget the Trump tariffs. The recent announcement that tariffs could return could completely wipe out any fiscal headroom that the Chancellor sought in her Budget. For businesses in Northern Ireland, especially those that are in the export industries, that brings another looming threat of economic instability.

We cannot simply acknowledge the challenges but must concentrate on solutions. The SDLP has called for a coordinated response from the Executive led by the Minister of Finance and the Minister for the Economy. That response should include targeted business rates relief for small businesses and social enterprises to help offset the rise in costs. It should include reform of the non-domestic rates system to make it fairer and more responsive to the needs of businesses.

I completely concur with my Economy Committee colleague David Honeyford: it is a bizarre and unfair policy that is actually anti-business. We need to reform it, and we need to do so soon. It should also include measures to provide certainty for the voluntary sector. Multi-year Budgets have the potential to offer the stability that those organisations need. Without that certainty, they will continue to struggle to deliver essential services. Any Barnett consequentials arising from the Budget must be ring-fenced for Northern Ireland. By doing that, £61·2 million could be put to childcare, £68 million to housing and £170 million to infrastructure projects. Those are not just numbers on a spreadsheet; they represent investments that could improve the lives of families, increasing the amount of affordable housing and creating the structure needed to drive sustainable and inclusive growth. The Budget highlights the broader issue of Northern Ireland's continued reliance on decisions made at Westminster, without us having the fiscal tools to shape our future —

— increasing the instability at the coalface of our communities.

705 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:21 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification