Whenever I speak to businesses across Yorkshire, they provide familiar but important stories about what they are experiencing on the ground. Our companies are still investing, still innovating and still looking ahead, even as they face challenges. The question now is whether the upcoming Budget will give businesses the breathing space they need to turn that resilience into growth.

The latest national Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) shows that UK business confidence rebounded sharply in Q3 2026, but remained marginally negative as firms moderated their expectations for future sales and profits. The recovery was broad-based, yet weaker hiring, persistent cost pressures and geopolitical uncertainty point to a fragile rather than strong improvement.

The accountancy profession has made significant strides in widening access over the past decade. Across Yorkshire and the Humber, firms are working harder than ever to recruit talent from a broader range of socio-economic backgrounds. School outreach programmes, apprenticeship pathways, contextual recruitment and partnerships with organisations focused on social mobility, such as Ahead Partnerships and Access Accountancy, are increasingly becoming part of the mainstream.

Energy security and regional growth are often treated as separate goals. In reality, they can reinforce each other. As the UK builds a cleaner energy system, the Humber and the North East are well placed to become national hubs for low-carbon hydrogen.