Chancellor Phillip Hammond announced his 2018 Spring Budget yesterday which addressed skills-related measures as well as GDP growth.

Addressing skills-related spending Hammond said, “As our economy changes, we must ensure people have the skills they need to seize the opportunities ahead.” He then announced £500 million a year for T-levels, new technical qualifications that allow 16 to 19-year-olds to study in 15 different sectors. Hammond also announced £50 million to help employers roll out placements for T-level students.

Hammond also stated, “We’re committed as a government to delivering 3 million apprenticeship starts by 2020 with the support of business through the apprenticeship levy. But we recognise the challenges the new system presents to some small businesses looking to employ an apprentice. So I can announce today that my Right Honourable Friend the Education Secretary will release up to £80 million of funding to support those small businesses in engaging an apprentice.”

Samantha Hurley, Director of Operations at the Association of Professional Staffing Companies, commented on the Spring Statement, “Yesterday’s speech conveyed a clear realisation that the strength of the UK economy is directly related to the talent agenda – and we support proposed measures to develop the skills we need to thrive amid a rapidly advancing economy.”

Hurley added that the £500 million a year being directed toward T-Levels and £80 million to support small businesses in apprentice engagement “suggests that the government is serious about pipelining skills for future prosperity.”

Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) director of policy Tom Hadley also commented, “The focus on education and skills, including additional funding for construction skills and T-level preparation, are welcome – especially in light on ongoing staff shortages picked up on in our monthly data.  We will continue to push for the Apprenticeship Levy to evolve into a broader training levy that recruiters can use to boost skills and progression of temporary and contract workers on their books.”

During the speech, Hammond also upgraded the GDP growth forecast to 1.5% growth for 2018 from the previous forecast of 1.4%. For 2019, growth is forecast to be 1.3%, then 1.3% in 2020, 1.4% in 2021, and 1.5% in 2022.

Meanwhile, the Spring Statement made no mention of IR35 or any potential changes to the legislation.

“While the Written Ministerial Statement did confirm that a consultation on off-payroll working in the private sector will be launched ‘in the coming months’, there are still no firm timelines attached to this,” Hurley said. “APSCo maintains that a move to extend recent legislative changes to the private sector at this time is ill-conceived, and we will be sharing this view, and the evidence behind our position, when the opportunity does present itself.”

The REC’s Hadley also commented on IR35, “It’s encouraging that the government has so far not brought forward a consultation on IR35 in its spring statement. We hope that the government is instead focussing on a more holistic approach to employment status, tying into recommendations from the Matthew Taylor review.”

“We’ve been saying for a long time that introducing changes to IR35 in the private sector would be premature, as the impact of the public sector changes is not yet fully known and there are still issues with implementation that need to be rectified,” Hadley said.

Dave Chaplin, CEO and founder of ContractorCalculator, also commented on the lack of IR35 update. “With no more details announced today on rolling-out the off-payroll reforms into the private sector dare we hope that Hammond and HMRC are starting to listen to stakeholders before pressing ahead to roll-out the IR35 reforms into the private sector.  All the signs from HMRC had pointed towards an extension of the public-sector reforms arriving as soon as April 2019, with many of us expecting an announcement and release of a consultation in today’s Statement.”

Kermode, Chief Executive of The Freelancer & Contractor Services Association, also commented, “With no mention, we hope that it shows that the government has listened to FCSA’s many concerns and the impact the changes have had on the public sector over the last year and we will continue to make our voice heard on behalf of the UK’s hard-working contractors and freelancers that a private sector roll-out will be hugely damaging for them and the UK economy.

For the full speech, click here.