It is difficult to believe that we are heading very quickly to the end of 2024 in what has been another year of change for the region and the country.

Hopefully, now, with the Chancellor’s first Budget completed we can approach the final few weeks of the year with a bit more certainty as we look ahead to 2025.

I have absolutely no doubt that companies will have been crunching the numbers as soon as Rachel Reeves completed her first major fiscal event since becoming Chancellor in July. There is no doubt that the changes to National Insurance paid by employers and the uplift in minimum wage are going to have a bearing on the cashflow of firms across the area.

However, there is also a school of thought that now we know what the Government is doing around tax and spending that we, as businesses, can plan accordingly.

Time will tell how much of an impact it will have.

There was also a promise from the Chancellor to invest, invest, invest and the hope will be that this stimulates the private sector to follow suit. As the Chamber’s latest Quarterly Economic Survey showed, there is confidence in this region but it is not quite as strong as it was earlier in the year.

The survey was, however, conducted before the Budget so we will have to wait and see what effect it has had on sentiment in our region.

At our most recent Local Business Forum meeting, we met our new MP John Slinger who believes Rugby is very well-placed to grow economically in the coming months and years and presented a very optimistic picture for our region.

It was great that he has continued where Mark Pawsey left off in engaging with businesses and in seeing the importance of the Chamber network, locally, regionally and nationally.

In my view, it is now vitally important that all stakeholders including Rugby Borough Council, Warwickshire County Council, our MP and businesses all work in harmony to help deliver a strong economy for Rugby and the surrounding borough.

This isn’t about economic growth that sits separately to the needs of local people. If businesses are growing and the economy is expanding it means better jobs, more investment and a better place to live and work.

As we move into 2025, it’s vital that we all work collectively to deliver on that aim.