Following the Chancellor’s Spring Budget earlier this month many local businesses might be asking if it will provide the “grass-roots growth” promised, writes Simon Shaw, of Duncan & Toplis. There was a welcomed focus on helping those in the hospitality, retail and leisure and haulage and logistics sectors who have continued to struggle for many reasons, including the squeeze on household budgets and increased business costs. The first measure was to extend the freeze on alcohol duty until 2025. Although many in the hospitality sector have seen large increases in energy costs at the same time …