The recent UK Budget, announced by Chancellor John Healey, should have been an opportunity to ease the pressures holding back small businesses. As the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has highlighted, soaring energy costs and the tax burden continue to constrain investment and job creation.

The Government has an ambition for growth in every postcode, but the Budget missed the mark on matching that ambition. FSB will continue to press the Government to rectify this.

Closer to home, the Chancellor delivered an additional £270 million for Northern Ireland through Barnett consequentials, alongside further funding commitments from the Secretary of State. However, there is a much bigger question - what happens if the NI Executive cannot agree how to spend the money?

As another month passes without an agreed Executive Budget, the consequences are becoming increasingly serious.

placeholder image — Roger Pollen, Head of FSB NI.

Political uncertainty and a failure to make decisions are no longer simply matters of political debate. They threaten the delivery of public services and the economic environment in which our small businesses operate.

Departments are working to contingency allocations equivalent to 95% of the previous year's budgets, with some warning that available funding could run out by January.

The implications are already stark. Ian Snowden, Permanent Secretary at the Department for the Economy, told the Assembly's Committee for the Economy in June that organisations funded by his Department could face a 6% reduction. By way of example of potential impact, he confirmed it could mean 1,700 fewer undergraduate places in September.

This is not an abstract financial argument. It is a direct threat to Northern Ireland's future skills’ base, economic competitiveness and ability to attract investment. At a time when Ulster University is seeking to expand its presence in Derry/Londonderry, funding uncertainty risks undermining precisely the ambition and regional development that Northern Ireland needs.

Businesses need certainty, confidence and a government capable of delivering.

The UK Budget has also provided additional resources to support a Northern Ireland Investment Summit, but investment confidence cannot be built on announcements alone.

Businesses considering investing here will have their own budgets, plans and deadlines. They need certainty, confidence and a government capable of delivering.

Northern Ireland's small businesses cannot afford to wait indefinitely.

The Executive must agree a Budget, take responsibility and provide the financial certainty our economy urgently needs. Every month of inaction risks turning opportunity into lost investment, lost jobs and lost growth.

Roger Pollen, Head of FSB NI.