The recruitment industry has responded to the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, acknowledging the economic challenges currently facing the government and the wider country.
“Success for the Chancellor and this government comes from economic growth, and the Chancellor was right to emphasise this today,’ said Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Chief Executive Neil Carberry, “But economic growth comes from private sector success – generating the income that funds jobs, tax revenues and ultimately our public services. On that, we remain at a crossroads.”
Carberry lists the upcoming rise in Employer’s National Insurance, anti-business rhetoric from some parts of government and worries about impractical new employment regulation as factors holding back business investment.
“The government’s overall message is more positive and sectors such as housing and defense will be heartened but we need more from the government on the broader industrial strategy,” he said. “Progress on reforming the apprenticeship levy, easing bureaucracy for employers and proper partnership working is what is needed now to underpin the labour market and unleash growth across all sectors.”
“The significant increase in defence spending and, more specifically, the focus on channelling funds into jobs and skills creation within niche specialisms, is welcome news and does demonstrate that the Chancellor has listened to calls to invest in skills,” commented Tania Bowers, Global Public Policy Director at the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). “The expected increase in demand for specialist tech engineering experts in order to implement and manage new defence technology and manufacturing processes will be welcome news for the staffing sector. While the focus of this is on the defence sector in order to secure the UK’s place as a high-tech, international defence powerhouse, the investment in these jobs will have benefits beyond the sector.”
Bowers notes that any financial support for STEM skills growth will benefit the wider labour market and adds critical expertise to the UK and while there are less popular parts of the Chancellor’s measures she said it was encouraging to see that creating quality jobs is front and centre in the Government’s plans for change. “The focus on funnelling money into getting more people who can work into employment is also promising for the labour market, though how much that will impact professional skills in the immediate future remains to be seen,” she added.
Bowers also welcomed plans to clamp down further on tax avoidance noting that from the details published so far, there could be much to impact the supply chain and push towards greater compliance. “The suggested rewards for informants and steps for tackling phoenixism, for example, will have an impact on recruitment supply chains,” she said. “Proposals to challenge promoters of marketed tax avoidance can include umbrellas of all types and Managed Service Contracts (MSC’s). However, the bigger challenge remains the overall umbrella reforms, which, as we all know, will be complex to say the least.”
Finally, both Bowers and Carberry expressed dismay at the Chancellor’s comments on costly agency staff in the NHS.
“The narrative about costly agencies is back to front,” said Carberry. “NHS Trusts are struggling to find contingent staff due to a nine-year freeze in most pay rates for affordable, on-framework agency work. This has driven trusts to expensive provision that could be avoided by working in partnership with agencies, unions and trusts to design a system that really works.”
