Business News Round Up (15/01/2026)
Industry leaders ‘underwhelmed’ by Scottish Budget despite rates relief
The Scottish Government has announced its latest fiscal plans in its 2026-2026 Budget, branding it as a “budget for families”. Prioritising immediate support for households while introducing future reforms to property taxation, the proposals focus heavily on supporting the NHS, enhancing public services, and easing cost-of-living pressures ahead of the May 2026 election. For business rates, a 15% relief will be introduced for the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors, capped at £110,000 per business, while 100% relief continues for hospitality businesses in island communities. The most immediate impact for taxpayers concerns income tax. While there are no changes to the tax rates themselves, the Scottish Government has announced a significant shift in thresholds to benefit lower and middle earners. The Basic and Intermediate rate thresholds will rise by 7.4% – more than inflation. The Basic Rate threshold increases to £16,538, and the Intermediate Rate threshold rises to £29,527.
UK economy returns to modest growth as services sector lifts November output
The UK economy grew by 0.3% in November, according to official figures, marking a modest improvement in output as households and businesses awaited details of the Autumn Budget. Data from the ONS showed a recovery in industrial production compared with the previous month, helped by the phased restart of manufacturing at Jaguar Land Rover following a cyber-attack in August. On a rolling three-month basis, the economy expanded by 0.1% in the period to November, up from flat growth in the August to October window, which was revised upwards from an earlier estimate. Economists said the subdued pace of growth reflected uncertainty in the run-up to the Budget, which had been dominated by warnings of further fiscal tightening, including the prospect of an income tax rise. However, private sector surveys suggested consumer spending picked up after mid-November, when guidance indicated the chancellor had stepped back from introducing such a measure.
Slow planning and infrastructure constraints delaying investment decisions, coalition warns
A broad coalition of Scottish business and industry organisations has published a joint manifesto setting out a shared economic mandate for the next Scottish Parliament, urging all political parties to prioritise competitiveness, infrastructure delivery and skills as the foundations of sustainable growth. Trade Associations’ Scotland represents employers and supply chains across energy, infrastructure, housing, property, retail, food and drink, tourism and hospitality and the wider service economy. The 13 Scottish trade associations, including Homes for Scotland, Scottish Engineering, Scottish Property Federation and Scottish Renewables, warn that policy uncertainty, slow planning and infrastructure constraints are already delaying investment decisions across Scotland. Trade Associations’ Scotland represents nearly £90 billion GVA and more than 1.4 million jobs, underpinning Scotland’s future prosperity. The manifesto highlights the scale of opportunity if long-term policy frameworks align with private capital.
Government to confirm £45bn Northern Powerhouse Rail funding
A new rail route between Liverpool and Manchester via Manchester Airport and Warrington will make up one element of the long-promised rail project to boost east-west links across the North of England. After years of delays, chancellor Rachel Reeves will finally set out the government’s vision for Northern Powerhouse Rail tomorrow, alongside a funding commitment to seeing it delivered. The government has allocated £1.1bn during the current Spending Review period to support planning, development and design work to enable the preparation of a detailed delivery programme, including construction sequencing and timelines, with a total funding cap of £45bn for the full NPR programme. NPR will hopefully provide faster and more frequent services linking Liverpool, Manchester, Warrington, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, and York, with onward services to Newcastle via Darlington and Durham, as well as to Hull and Chester for North Wales connections.