Enterprise loans for enterprising young entrepreneurs was the highlight of an otherwise disappointing budget. We need to create a new generation of bright young business stars if Britain is ever really going to be able to make a positive impact in the 21st century. However, for the rank and file of the UK’s 4.5million SMEs – which employ almost 14million people generating more than £1500billion worth of turnover – George Osborne’s budget was something of a let down.

Bringing forward planned cuts in corporation tax – with rates falling to 24 per cent from April and 22 per cent by 2014 – is a boost for British business as a whole. As is the introduction of a Patent Box scheme where profits from patents and intellectual property would only attract a 10 per cent corporation tax rate. Together these moves could save British business more than £6billion over the next few years. But the headline corporation tax rate cut does nothing to help small businesses that don’t earn more than £300,000 so in practice it will have a limited impact for millions of businesses.

Confirmation of the ‘credit easing’ plan for a National Loan Guarantee Scheme – which will help guarantee £20billion worth of bank lending to companies with a turnover of less than £50million – was welcomed in part, but it is not enough on its own – given that rates are set to rise by 5.6 per cent next month. Plans to cut some red tape and allow smaller firms to pay tax on the amount of cash collected is not a bad move, but Mr Osbourne missed the chance to make hiring and firing easier – saving small businesses hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

The Budget also offered no reprieve for small firms struggling with the high price of petrol and diesel. Instead, fuel duty will continue to go up by three pence in August. This will still hit small businesses hard and there appears to be no long-term solution to address high and volatile fuel prices.