Chancellor John Healey has delivered the Autumn Budget 2026 under Labour Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s Government.
For aesthetic clinic owners and practitioners, several measures announced in the Budget may have implications for business growth and operations. In a move designed to support high street businesses, Healey confirmed that the small business rates relief threshold for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will increase from £12,000 to £18,000. The measure is expected to remove 70,000 businesses from paying business rates altogether and will be funded through increased taxation on gambling. The Chancellor also announced a rise of 3.9% in the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW), with NMW rising to £13.21, and for 18- to 20-year-olds to £11.27. Turning his attention to working parents, Healey announced that self-employed fathers and partners will become eligible for paid paternity leave for the first time.
For practitioners considering opening their own clinic or expanding into business ownership, the Budget introduced several measures aimed at supporting entrepreneurship. The trading allowance will increase from £1,000 to £3,000, enabling individuals to earn more income tax-free from new venture business activities. Healey also announced a new Young Entrepreneur Allowance, which will provide support towards living costs during the first year of building a business.
The Budget included further support for business founders, particularly female entrepreneurs. A new scale-up programme for female founders will see the British Business Bank double its funding commitments to women-led businesses to £200 million. In addition, founders’ relief will maintain a 10% tax rate on lifetime gains of up to £10 million for the founders of the UK’s most successful firms, with the government positioning the measure as an incentive for business growth and investment.
Looking more broadly at healthcare, Healey unveiled plans for a review into NHS productivity and the use of artificial intelligence. The initiative aims to reduce administrative pressures on healthcare professionals, allowing more time to be spent on direct patient care. The Chancellor also stated that NHS data centres will be based within the UK under a new British Data Centre Covenant, intended to strengthen data security and resilience through a series of regulatory safeguards.