Target Group comment on the Budget

26 November 2025

Mel Spencer, growth director at Target Group, said:

“On reflection, despite the chaos in the run-up to it, this might be the most pro-collections team Budget in living memory. In the short-term, Rachel Reeves has gone some way to tackling Britain’s cost of living crisis. She has not hiked-up income tax rates. She has increased the minimum wage by over 4 per cent for almost two and a half million workers amid higher wage growth elsewhere. She has introduced the first rail fare freeze for 30 years with frozen regulated rail fares. She has cut green levies on household electricity bills. She has scrapped the two-child benefit. All of this will help to improve living standards.

“On top of that, fears over bank tax rises appears to have been overblown.

“Yes, the Chancellor has embraced fiscal drag, having chosen to freeze income tax thresholds until 2031. And her attacks on landlord income will be passed on to tenants in the form of higher rents, in the longer term. Her plans to slash the annual cash Isa limit could lead to higher mortgage rates, too – cash Isas are an important source of funding for banks and building societies, which use the deposits to fund loans to households and businesses.

“But hard-pressed collections teams should be pleased. In the short-term, this Budget will help to keep arrears and possessions low.

“Of course, whether or not Rachel Reeves can deliver fiscal stability in the medium term, is a different matter.”