Digital Planning co-founder James Ferraby provided Business reaction to the 2025 Budget on the BBC Politics East Midlands.
The DP director was interviewed after speaking on a panel at the East Midlands Chamber’s Future Flux economic and innovation conference at De Montfort University.
The conference – which focused on regional economic growth – came two days after the Chancellor presented her Budget at Westminster.
Speaking with Peter Saull, the BBC’s East Midlands Politics Editor, after the conference, James described how Digital Planning’s services aligned with Government Industrial Strategy ambitions around AI, digital transformation, and productivity.
“We obviously appreciate that the Chancellor has continued to fund research and development. We specialise in commercial research and development and I think we meet some of the [Government’s Industrial Strategy] pillars there.
“We’re into AI, machine learning, we’re also into quantum technology. We’re into MedTech, and we’re into making our workforce more efficient and helping to increase productivity. So we’re quite aligned with the Government on that and looking forward to providing some solutions.”
Asked about how the 2025 Budget compared with that of 2024, James added: “I think the last, the last budget was really difficult for business, and I think this one wasn’t.
“Did I agree with everything? No. I think we’ve got difficult economic headwinds, and I think that overall business will come out feeling positive about what she said.”
Politics East Midlands is a regional BBC One television programme covering political news, interviews, and debate focused on the East Midlands.
It airs on Sunday mornings, providing analysis of how national and local political decisions affect people and institutions across the East Midlands.
The show features political news round‑ups, studio interviews with MPs, local leaders and experts, and panel discussions about current regional issues.
Among Sunday’s panellists was Dr Jeevun Sandher, MP for Loughborough and the elected representative covering Digital Planning’s base in the Advanced Technology Innovation Centre (ATIC) building on the Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park campus.
