“This budget was a moment when BFFF members had hoped to see support for their businesses from the government. At a time of high food inflation, rising employment costs and poor growth, it feels like a missed opportunity to encourage and inspire frozen food businesses when confidence is already fragile.

“Our latest membership research makes the scale of that fragility clear. A third of frozen food businesses have already reduced their workforce in response to the increases in National Insurance and the National Minimum Wage over the past year, with reductions ranging from modest adjustments to one business that has cut its workforce by almost half and closed four sites.

“Nearly half are now reducing staff organically by maintaining a recruitment freeze, while others are seeking to manage costs by accelerating automation plans and reassessing capital investment. Members also tell us they are suspending planned projects, placing tighter conditions on suppliers and considering extended payment cycles simply to absorb the pressures they already face.

“Against this backdrop, today’s announcement offers little sense of relief or encouragement.

“The announcement of funding to make training for apprentices under 25 free for small and medium-sized businesses is to be welcomed. However, the overall increases in minimum wages, especially for teenagers, could create unintended difficulties for young people looking for their first job.

“Equalising wages between younger and more experienced workers makes it harder for businesses to justify employing a very young person. Employers who are already under strain may opt for a candidate with more experience if both come at similar cost, risking reducing opportunities for young people at precisely the moment they need them most. This will inevitably hit the hospitality industry and food industry harder than some, as they rely on seasonal labour for food harvest, production and events.

“The frozen food sector is resilient, innovative and central to the UK’s food security, but it cannot continue to shoulder rising costs without consequences. Today’s budget offered a chance to give businesses renewed confidence to invest, grow and create jobs. Instead, many of our members will see it as more pressure layered on top of those they are still managing from last year.”

Rupert Ashby, CEO of the British Frozen Food Federation: