On Wednesday Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her Spring Statement to Parliament, with billions of pounds’ worth of cuts set to be announced.
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall has laid out changes to the benefits system aimed at getting more people into work and saving £5bn a year via a reduction in disability payments.
And Reeves has said the civil service will look to axe 10,000 ‘back office’ jobs, many of which she says can be done by technology. She hopes the move will free up £2bn, which can then be used for “front line” services.
Under-pressure Reeves, who is expected to rule out further tax rises, controversially hit businesses with extra taxes in the autumn Budget.
With government borrowing on the rise and research from both KPMG and YouGov showing that Britons are increasingly pessimistic about the state of the economy, what are figures in the tech industry hoping for from the Spring Statement?
AI
“Businesses in regulated sectors like insurance, finance and healthcare are on a dangerous trajectory,” Simon Tindal, CTO of Smart Communications, warns.
“Without targeted tax incentives, which I hope to see addressed in the Spring Statement, we’re creating a tech gap that UK businesses simply can’t afford. Billions in potential growth are at stake, as we lose ground to global competitors… we risk becoming an innovation backwater.”
Tindal further points out the critical implications for public services: “Look at the NHS. Past digital transformation efforts have fallen flat. Another failure to invest in new technologies to solve core issues like broken patient forms and policyholder communications, which the Spring Statement must prioritise, means millions of taxpayers will continue to suffer from inefficient, slow services.
“The Spring Statement needs to deliver real action, not just promises. We can’t afford to repeat the same mistakes.”
Gareth Whiting, SVP of sales in Europe at Creatio, expects the government to signal a continued commitment to AI with funding and initiatives aimed at fostering innovation for UK businesses.
“However, beyond broad commitments, I’d like to see a more focused effort on empowering businesses to take the lead in practical AI adoption,” he adds. “Historically, the private sector has been the engine of innovation; therefore, policies that actively incentivise businesses to responsibly adopt AI, optimise their AI pipelines, and promote technology that demonstrably boosts efficiency and performance are crucial.
“Additionally, we must prioritise AI literacy and workforce enablement to ease anxieties around job displacement. A clear and proactive approach will stimulate industry demand and enable more strategic government investment.”
Fraud prevention
Marko Maras, CEO of Trustfull – an Italian firm operating in the UK – says greater EU-UK collaboration in fraud prevention needs to be at the top of Reeves’s agenda.
Fraud is fast becoming a global crisis, with $1tn lost to scams alone last year. Deepfake technology and AI-driven fraud are driving up the number of victims across multiple industries, including retail, banking and travel.
Without cross-border collaboration, criminals will continue to exploit blind spots and existing gaps in regulation to con innocent victims, says Maras: “Cybercrime is an international problem, with fraudsters in other countries targeting UK citizens. Criminals are operating across borders – sharing tactics and buying ‘Fraud as a Service’ solutions from each other on the dark web.
“This is too big of a problem for one country to solve and demands a united global effort. We’re calling for the UK government to strengthen collaboration with international and European partners, bringing banks, social media firms and financial crime experts together in a strategic fight against rising fraud.”
Silvija Krupena, director of the financial intelligence unit at RedCompass Labs, agrees that the UK’s response to tackling fraud to this point has been fragmented and ineffective, with legislation unable to hold media giants like Meta to account for spreading scams.
She believes the UK government should invest in impactful campaigns, stronger legislation and AI-driven solutions, while also reinforcing the need for less red tape and for payment regulation to be sharp and effective.
“Fraud now accounts for nearly 40% of all crime, yet the response remains fragmented and ineffective,” she says. “While the Online Safety Act was a step in the right direction, it has failed to hold social media giants like Meta accountable for the scams spreading on its platforms.
“The majority of fraud now originates online, but there are still no meaningful penalties or incentives for tech firms to act.
“The government must invest in awareness campaigns, stronger legislation, and AI-driven solutions to combat evolving financial crime. Criminals are leveraging AI to scale fraud operations, sharing successful tactics which automate scams and utilise deepfake technology to rake in millions.
“It’s time the government matches criminals’ moves and works together with banks, law enforcement, social media firms and financial crime experts to outsmart them at their own game. If not the gap between criminals and those fighting fraud will only widen.”
FinTech leader
Leo Labeis, founder & CEO of RegTech 50 firm REGnosys, says the Government must include measures to support the growing RegTech sector to solidify the UK’s position at the forefront of global financial innovation.
“The RegTech sector gained significant traction last year as global regulatory rewrites and heightened regulatory scrutiny, reflected in substantial fines, forced financial institutions to reassess their compliance processes and adopt innovative solutions,” he says.
“Due to this compliance drive, the global industry could be worth up to $85bn by 2032, and the sector has been earmarked as a key driver of FinTech investment this year.
“As financial hubs across the world such as New York and Singapore strengthen and global competition intensifies, the UK government must look to cement its position as a leader in FinTech and take action to support this critical growth opportunity. “
Laurent Descout, co-founder and CEO of cross-border payments FinTech Neo, says the Spring Statement must bolster university funding and help SMEs, which are both critical for driving innovation and growth in the UK.
“As the CEO of a Barcelona-based FinTech with offices in London and Cambridge, I see first-hand how UK universities fuel the country’s FinTech sector, producing world-class technical talent, driving cutting-edge research and serving as incubators for the UK’s most promising startups,” he says.
“However, financial pressures on universities now pose a direct risk to the UK’s FinTech ecosystem. High-growth firms rely on a steady pipeline of graduates in AI, data science, and engineering. These skills are essential for the future of financial services. If universities struggle, so will the UK FinTech sector’s ability to compete globally.
“The UK Government must continue to support SMEs as they navigate an exceptionally challenging landscape. Last month, 393 companies were forced to wind up across England and Wales. This was the highest monthly figure since September 2014 and highlights the immense pressure small businesses are under.
“For SMEs to not just survive but thrive, they need permanent full expensing, stable tax policies, and unhindered access to investment.”