John Edmonds

Gordon Brown has revised his growth forecasts but insisted that Britain is weathering the economic slowdown better than its European counterparts.

In his speech the chancellor said he was "meeting our responsibilities abroad and at home" at a time of global uncertainty.

Brown said he was standing "steadfast for stability, enterprise and full employment".

He was "tackling inequality, renewing public services" to build a "Britain of economic strength and social justice".

Forum Response: GMB

John Edmonds, general secretary of the GMB union, said: "This is a Liquorice Allsorts Budget with a little of something for everyone. We will have wait until the war is over for major decisions including the euro but I am very pleased that Gordon Brown has kept his commitment to public services spending.

"This Budget offers a lot to small businesses but neglects our beleaguered manufacturing industry which is responsible for employing millions of people. However, the extension of the training pilots to most of the country is a welcome move."

Forum Response: Association of British Insurers

A spokesman for the ABI said: "The government has very sensibly decided to re-examine Ron Sandler's recommendation on qualifying policies and the tax treatment of the five per cent withdrawal in the context of a wider look at the taxation of savings.

"The ABI has emphasised to the chancellor the dangers of making piecemeal changes to the tax system without ensuring that there is a genuinely level playing field in tax terms for all kinds of saving. We would, for example, want to see the full ISA limit applied to insurance as well as to mutual funds.

"Today's announcement will reassure many thousands of pensioners and savers whose income would have been at risk. We are pleased that the government has taken this view.

"It is disappointing that the government has not yet increased incentives for savers more generally. The ABI has put forward a number of concrete proposals in our response to the Pensions Green Paper. It is vital that measures are introduced to help close Britain's savings gap.

"There is actually a strong case for reducing IPT, which is a tax on prudent behaviour. But we are glad that the chancellor has not moved to raise this tax.

"The ABI has been lobbying hard to create a more open market for insurance and financial services within the EU. For this, it is important that there is free and fair competition between companies, wherever they are based and whoever owns them. European consumers can only benefit from greater and fairer competition in financial services

Forum Response: Federation of Small Businesses

John Walker, policy chairman of the FSB, said: "Freezing taxes is not good enough. It doesn't freeze the tax take, it simply means that inflation does the chancellor's job for him.

"The chancellor has acknowledged that the odds are stacking up against small firms, but has done nothing to address tax inequalities, rising business costs and escalating liability insurance premiums - the three key issues facing small firms.

"The chancellor has recognised that over the next financial year growth in manufacturing sector will be less than one per cent. A scattering of measures pledged to encourage enterprise will make no difference against the backdrop of an £3 billion increase in National Insurance.

"Rocketing insurance premiums have given the chancellor a windfall of £325 million. Freezing Insurance Premiums Tax does nothing to assist small firms that can't secure liability insurance at any cost.

"The allowances for investment in capital, IT and research and development are not new but they are good news provided all three apply to small businesses regardless of status. There are other minor measures that will please small firms including a reduction in the obligation to complete statistical surveys.

"The chancellor claims that this is a Budget for enterprise, flexibility and fairness. We can see little in it for enterprise and were looking for flexibility but got the status quo. The chancellor also missed the opportunity to deliver fairness for all small firms, failing to unravel red tape or help the self employed."

Forum Response: British Retail Consortium

Bill Moyes, director general of the BRC, said: "No one should be surprised that the chancellor has delivered such a neutral Budget.

"We would have liked to see the chancellor do more to stimulate consumer demand, but we are grateful at least that he has not hit the business sector with a raft of new costs."

Forum Response: Institute of Directors

George Cox, director general of the IoD, said: "The problem essentially is not this year's Budget, it was last year's. That was when the chancellor abandoned his earlier tight control of public finances and committed himself to a massive and sustained increase in expenditure.

"He based his assumption of affordability on levels of economic growth that we said at the time were optimistic and represented a gamble. He is still assuming strong growth to put things back on track.

"To bring the British economy back on an even keel, the government must seriously consider flexing its future plans and gearing expenditure to economic performance.

"Current public spending growth is outstripping the growth of the economy and the growth in revenues which could have dire consequences for the public finances, resulting in substantial rises in taxes. These would undermine the economy, impede business further, and exacerbate the problem."

Forum Response: Consumer's Association

Sheila McKechnie, director of the Consumers' Association, said: "A more developed single market in financial services sounds good in theory. But as with many issues in financial services there is a huge gap between theory and delivery. In the UK we have learned from experience that unfettered competition in financial services has not delivered the goods for retail consumers.

"Many financial services products are based on tax differences between regimes, there are cultural and practical differences between service producers and consumers in different member states, and there is no real opportunity for consumers to gain redress across Europe.

"Any review must not focus only on barriers to producers in Europe but also the needs of consumers as past failures to adequately address these concerns has left UK consumers facing a number of personal finance scandals. This situation cannot be repeated at the EU level.

"If the Treasury's assumption is that what is good for companies will be good for consumers then they are simply wrong. It is consumers that drive markets in most sectors.

"In the finance sector, confusion, complexity and downright mis-selling means consumers don't have this power and influence. Unless they look at the single market from the consumer end of the telescope, a single market for financial services in the EU just won't happen."

Forum Response: Institution of Electrical Engineers

A spokesman for the IEE told ePolitix.com: "The IEE, the UK's largest organisation for professional engineers, welcomes support for research and development in the Budget. It is also pleased to see the chancellor recognising the importance of investing in small and medium size companies.

"In the technology and engineering community such companies that spin off from research and development are vital. As the chancellor recognises they are the potential big companies of the future and the failure of the UK to capitalise on the brilliant ideas we, as a country, develop has inhibited us for many decades.

"The IEE has long been concerned that, in Britain, capital investment has shied away from the exciting but challenging opportunities technological developments present.

"However, it is not simply capital investment that turns good ideas into good companies. One of the keys to maximising our innovation capability is the professional development of the workforce. The IEE believes that this is best done through a partnership of industry, education and the profession and will continue to build such partnerships."

Forum Response: Adecco

Richard MacMillan, managing director of Adecco, told ePolitix.com: "We had hoped for more help for the small business sector to stimulate employers to take on more staff.

"There is not much in the chancellor's Budget to suggest that and certainly nothing which offsets the cost on the National Insurance contributions which are adding dramatically to payroll costs. This diminishes our competitiveness with other European markets."

Forum Response: Construction Products Association

Michael Ankers, chief executive of the CPA, said: "We welcome Gordon Brown's firm stance on public investment and are relieved that he has heeded our call for no further increases in the tax burdens on business."However, we are disappointed that, whilst he has recognised the need to foster improved industry productivity, the Budget is long on intent but short on specific measures.

"Although there are some targeted measures to help SMEs and encourage research and development, the chancellor has failed to provide more general incentives for manufacturers to invest, such as through the introduction of enhanced capital allowances.

"Equally, whilst the Climate Change Levy and Aggregates Tax rates have been frozen, he has failed to tackle the most damaging aspects of these taxes.

"Nevertheless, the promised attack against the red tape facing construction and transport is welcome, especially given the significant threat to competitiveness posed by the Working Time Directive."

Forum Response: Voice UK

Kathryn Stone, director of Voice UK, told ePolitix.com: "Like everyone else in small business and charities we are very concerned at the increase in National Insurance contributions, and the adverse affect it will have on Voice UK and others."

Forum Response: RNIB

A spokesman for the RNIB said: "We welcome the assistance that Job Seekers will be given with training and the costs of getting to interviews. This will be of particular help to disabled Job Seekers. The Budget will also make for an easier transition into work by allowing people who claim housing benefit and who are moving into work to keep that benefit until it is reassessed."