THE chancellor's mini-budget has been welcomed - but more support is still needed, organisations say.

The budget, delivered by Kwasi Kwarteng, saw permanent cuts to stamp duty, a 1p cut to the basic rate of income tax, changes to universal credit and restrictions placed on the welfare system, as well as VAT-free shopping for overseas visitors, legislation to force trade unions to put offers to members to vote and a cap on bankers' bonuses.

The announcement also heard how freelancers will have to work out their own tax and alcohol duty is to be frozen from February 2023. 

"CAMRA welcome the news of an energy cap for business including the region's pubs and breweries", said Paul Hillhouse, Tyneside and Northumberland branch chairman.

"A lot of local businesses, especially in energy-hungry sectors like hospitality, have found it really tough the past few years and rising costs had created a situation where if government had not taken action, we would have undoubtedly seen a lot of closures. 

"It is not just the increase in energy costs hurting - I have been shown an energy bill from a small pub coming to almost £2,000 for a month - but also as domestic prices rise and people find themselves with less disposable income, they will obviously spend less in the pub. 

"However this is not a fix for the months of pain up to this point."

John McCabe, chief executive of the North East of England Chamber of Commerce, added: “On behalf of our members, we’re pleased to see the detail behind the headlines on support for business. This has been chamber members’ number one concern for the last six months and it is vital that the proposed package meets the size of the challenge.

"However business, charities and public sector energy arrangements are very different to households. So we’ll be looking closely at the small print as well as making sure the initial six months of support doesn’t create a cliff edge for our members in the spring.”

Northumberland Labour leader Scott Dickinson said the budget was welcome for small, struggling businesses in Northumberland but government had to support hardworking families struggling to keep afloat during the cost of living crisis.

Helen Golightly OBE, chief executive of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "To deliver its growth plan, it's important that government looks for opportunity to drive growth and investment in every part of the UK, and demonstrates how we can both deliver growth and level up the country.”