The past five years have been incredibly difficult for small businesses in the UK. With Brexit, COVID-19, American tariffs, and the cost-of-living crisis creating an environment that many SMEs across the country have struggled to navigate.
These challenges have impacted SMEs in every industry, not least the security sector, with high energy consumption, reliance on supply chains and clients who themselves are feeling the pinch. So how can Rachel Reeves begin to address the problem.

What is the business atmosphere in Yorkshire right now – and in the wider Security Industry too?

SMEs have taken on increased costs over the past 18 months, not least through the National Insurance Contribution increase – which came at a time when wages in technical trades were already rising due to skill shortages. This means that these businesses are now absorbing more costs than they realistically can, meaning long-term investments are having to be delayed while businesses navigate current financial challenges.

One of these long-term investments could be investing in security. Rising costs have impacted every part of the security industry, both in direct business costs (staffing, bills, tax) and in how much potential customers can afford to invest in security.

Van insurance, fuel and servicing costs have risen sharply while energy bills remain significantly higher than pre-2021 levels – something that is especially impacting those in the security industry if they run workshops and high-powered machinery.
Plus, lock manufacturers have increased prices consistently over the past two years with more price hikes expected in 2026.

These economic challenges are affecting supply chains too. Import-heavy products like cylinders, access-control equipment and safes are sensitive to currency movements, making pricing volatile.

While businesses are dealing with their costs rising, so are customers. In order to manage personal finances in an unpredictable economy, people cut back on their spending, putting off investments, not upgrading locks or access control systems, choosing to repair rather than replace, or choosing cheaper, lower-quality options.

And it’s not just those in the private sector that are feeling the pinch. Many public sector organisations are being more cautious with their spending due to budget constraints. Councils, universities, housing associations and schools all rely on government funding cycles, so any uncertainty around future allocations can lead to slower decision-making and reluctance to commission ‘non-urgent’ work.

As a result of this, planned maintenance or upgrades take longer to confirm, are delayed indefinitely, or are cancelled altogether due to reallocation of funding or reassessing of budgets.

Overall, the entire economic environment causes financial pressures that make business harder, especially for SMEs.

What are we looking out for?

Volatile and increasing overheads, such as business rates and insurance premium tax, significantly reduce the margins for financial irregularity. There is a possibility that these could change in the budget, a genuine fear for small businesses, for example Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief fell to 40%, from 75% in 2024, with a cap of £110,000 per business – something that has impacted us significantly.

Changes to public sector budgets also have knock-on effects for multiple industries, including the security sector. Whether they are reduced or increased will hinder or enable public bodies’ ability to invest in maintenance. Either way, some form of long-term stability is essential to help the public sector, and its private sector suppliers, to plan incomings and outgoings in advance.

Lastly, there are significant changes being made around safety requirements for fire-exit hardware, access-control systems and panic bars, in various smaller venues and community buildings. These changes will mean that hundreds of businesses will have to update their security facilities. This will cost money. Can the government support businesses with targeted funding or grant support to ensure that these upgrades can be made?

What’s the solution?

Small businesses across Yorkshire, and throughout the UK, are in an uncertain and difficult period and in this Autumn Budget, the Chancellor has an opportunity to provide them – us – with reasonable relief.

Having loaded businesses with extra costs in last year’s budget, impacting their ability to recruit and invest, the Chancellor needs to use this one to address and mitigate the challenges that have become far too big a burden in the last year.