There was no mention in UK Chancellor George Osborne's Budget speech of IT, nor of the cuts in public sector budgets and back office costs that made the headlines last time around. This budget was all about the government's 'plan for growth'. As far as the UK SITS industry is concerned, the key messages surround the measures to make Britain a more attractive place to start, grow and finance a business. The moves to encourage start-ups and entrepreneurs, and to boost technology and innovation, are particularly welcome. Of course, it's also good to see further funding for apprenticeships and technical colleges to help improve the skills in the UK workforce. As to future SITS opportunities, the only specific longer term possibility worth highlighting from the Budget speech is at HMRC. If consultations on the merger of national insurance and income tax bear fruit, Capgemini and other SITS suppliers to the department could find themselves very busy! In more general terms, green technology and solutions for tackling tax avoidance and evasion clearly remain high on the government’s agenda (see also our report UK public sector SITS: Impact of a new government).
We’ll bring you a more considered view once we’ve had a chance to digest the detail from the Budget report.