The CBI says that, with the start of 2020 having seen a welcome lift in business confidence, the first Budget of a new decade (11 March) “offers the chance to turn rising optimism into a surge in investment across the UK”, adding that it is private-sector investment that will lift productivity and enable all parts of the country to share in economic growth.

“Investment is also the key to building the UK into a global innovation leader.

Business strongly welcomes the Chancellor’s vision to level up communities and lead the way in low-carbon energy, and it is committed to playing its full part.

"Private-sector investment has fallen over the past couple of years. The Budget offers the opportunity to reverse this decline through pro-enterprise economic policy.”

The CBI (www.cbi.org.uk) is making Budget recommendations that include: a comprehensive review of the business rates system, which puts many parts of the UK economy at a competitive disadvantage; an extensive review of the Apprenticeship Levy, which is holding back skills investment and adding costs and complexity to businesses at a critical time for the UK economy; committing to delivering HS2 in full (given the ‘go-ahead’ on 11 February) to unlock capacity and transport connections across the North; and allocating funds to a wide range of strategic infrastructure projects (including the Midlands Engine Rail, East Coast mainline and Crossrail), plus channeling digital infrastructure funding to places that are hard to reach.

Also recommended are: establishing a network of world-class Catapult Quarters in every region of the UK to build on local strengths, develop low-carbon zones and support innovation clusters; accelerating a new US-style Advanced Research Project Agency to create a longer-term high-risk approach to investment; and increasing R&D tax credits.