THE Chancellor’s 2010 Budget proved a big hit with small business – but doubts remain over the fine detail.

Liverpool Chamber of Commerce chief executive Jack Stopforth admitted he was surprised and “quite pleased” to see how much Alistair Darling devoted to the sector.

“About a quarter of the time he was on his feet he was talking about small business, and for another quarter he was talking about training.

“I was very pleased to see some initiatives, like the suspension of business rates for 12 months.

“That caught me from left field somewhat.”

He admitted disappointment that plans for a 1% National Insurance increase still remain, but added: “We have a bit of time to work on that. It is such a crude tax on jobs.

“I was also disappointed that there was not more recognition of the cost to business of employment legislation.”

He welcomed the headline measure of reducing the borrowing requirement by half in four years, but said: “Business will want to know how he is going to achieve that.

“Overall, I thought it was a very adept performance.

“Just a few weeks from a General Election, I didn’t expect a lot of detail, and he didn’t disappoint us.”

Mr Stopforth was part of the LDP Business Budget panel 2010 that delivered its reaction on a live stream from the business district’s Cross Keys pub.

Fellow panellist Carl Cross, from Liverpool stockbroker Rensburg Sheppards, said: “I thought it was a pretty good performance by Alistair Darling, but very short on any kind of information about how he's going to tackle the deficit – some talk about £11bn in efficiency savings, but all Governments have a tendency to say that.

“It was inherently very political with the election just six weeks away, but very short on precise detail about how that enormous deficit is going to be addressed – and that's really the big concern.”

Panellist Paul Kelly, from the Liverpool office of Parker Kelly Financial Services, admitted his surprise that the Chancellor did not decide to continue the scrappage scheme which saw drivers rewarded for buying new green cars and has been credited with boosting the British automotive industry during the recession.

“I was sceptical when it was introduced last year that it would be a success. I was proved wrong.

“I wonder why it’s not been continued. It would help the jobs situation and also help the environment by taking old and polluting cars off the road.”

Peter Stoney, senior fellow in economics at the University of Liverpool, praised the Chancellor’s encouragement of small businesses.

“The university innovation link-up is quite a good point and the business rate could well be welcomed by SMEs (Small to Medium-sized Enterprises), although how the suspension of rates is going to impact on the bigger picture is unclear.

“The increase in investment allowances is a good thing, as is the investment bank for green energy, so there’s been some specific measures but there will be a moan from SMEs about the 1% National Insurance increase, although that’s not coming in for another year and by then things will be better anyway.”