Oxford: Blake Morgan comments on Autumn Statement

James Simpson, a partner in the employment team at Blake Morgan, said: “The figures quoted by the chancellor bear out our own experience in this region – there is no doubt that the economy is growing, as it has been slowly and steadily since 2010. Inevitably at some point the recovery will stall but, with incomes rising above inflation and confidence high, that does not look to be anytime soon; slow and steady is much better than boom and bust.

“One thing that is very evident to me is that although there have been significant cuts in public sector employment, we are not seeing anything like the high levels of unemployment that some predicted. This can only be because those people have gone on to find employment elsewhere, and the private sector has been especially good at creating jobs. Again there is no reason why this trend should not continue.

“We’re also seeing the Government continuing to put faith in allowing decisions to be made at a local level – an approach reflected in the announcements relating to devolved governments, allowing local councils more freedom to set business rates and enabling Further Education Colleges to look after their own funding in the way that academy schools do.

The introduction of the apprenticeship levy also follows this philosophy – it seems right that funding for apprentices should come from the businesses that will benefit from them, rather than apprentices being state funded.

“The extra stamp duty for buy-to-let properties makes buy to let a less attractive investment and may have a significant effect. Margins on buy-to-let properties are already quite tight, especially after the tax changes announced earlier in the year.  Indeed many now see the capital growth in buy-to-let properties as the most attractive feature rather than an income stream Most people would agree that it is right that homes should be available primarily for those who want to live in them; this measure is clearly designed to reduce the attractiveness of buy to let which some people argue has reduced the supply of housing available to homeowners.

“Housing, or rather the lack of it, is one of the greatest risk factors facing the economy. These changes will, perhaps, drive people towards investments of more long-term benefit to the economy in general.”