Budget 2013: What businesses want from George Osborne Billions of pounds can be put to productive use and thousands of jobs created if government frees up planning and decides which projects it wants to lead with, and on a sensible time frame. With falling real wages and rising prices, families continue to struggle to save for the long term. Pension auto-enrolment is working but could be accelerated. Isa limits should be raised and further encouragement given to investment in stocks and shares, both through Isas and VCTs. The FTSE 250 retailer Terry Duddy, chief executive of Home Retail Group We would like to see personal tax allowances accelerated to the £10,000 level talked about. It's important for people who are less affluent to have more money in their pocket - that would help growth. We would also like business rates, which will rise by 2.6pc in April, frozen. But that's just the start, you have to look at the wider issue of taxation. We are not expecting much in the Budget to help retailers and we are relying on our self-help plans. Against a backdrop of subdued consumer spending, we will continue to invest and are focused on delivery of the transformation plan to reinvent Argos as a digital retail leader and the Homebase proposition. I am concerned about the DIY market overall, although in the short term there are going to be some benefits, hopefully, from a normal summer. The FTSE 250 housebuilder Mark Clare, chief executive of Barratt Developments Government support for the UK housebuilding industry remains strong, with a range of initiatives in place designed to support house purchases and stimulate growth. We would like to see the Chancellor announce that the New-Buy mortgage indemnity scheme is to be extended beyond the next election - to bolster the confidence of both lenders and buyers. NewBuy has dramatically reduced the deposit required to buy a new home to 5pc and, supported by reductions in mortgage rates, is proving popular with homebuyers who have been locked out of the market. The Funding for Lending Scheme should also provide a boost , as the lack of bank lending has been the key constraint to industry growth. We'd also like to see a concerted effort by the Government to sell surplus public sector land for housing - that's good for housebuilding and it's a good way to reduce the deficit. The private equity-backed media group Sarah Wood, founder and chief operating officer of Unruly Media Smaller measures I'd like to see would include anything to reduce the administrative burden on fast-growing businesses at all stages of growth. The UK is the top European destination for US investors, but they say that what's holding back further investment is the regulatory burden in the UK. I also think tax breaks for large firms that mentor small businesses are a good idea - as a high-growth company, it's very helpful to make connections with companies that are a few steps ahead of you. The other thing is ring-fencing apprenticeship funding for high-growth sectors. Half of the jobs we advertise for didn't exist a decade ago and we're experiencing a significant skills gap. Changes to tax-free gains for employee shareholders would be great, too. My general concern is that we won't see anything radical and that concerns me. This isn't a moment for just tinkering around the edges. The entrepreneur As the owner of an SME with employees of my own, I'll be looking for policies that help people on a professional and personal level. The Government has already enacted a few policies to support young businesses, like the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, but fragile consumer confidence needs to be addressed more effectively. At the end of 2012, 18.6pc of 16 to 24-year-olds were unemployed and the Government needs to make more of an effort to help these young people learn the skills that many employers desperately need. This could begin with encouraging more apprenticeships, which will, in turn, create more jobs in sectors that are continually growing. Helping our young people into employment, be it via National Insurance breaks for small businesses taking on apprentices or other schemes, will help motivate the workforce and improve the bottom line. The sole trader Mark Duffy, founder of Frog Watches I'd like the Chancellor to finally do something to address access to finance for small businesses, but it's very difficult. You can tell banks to do something over and over again, but if they won't help, what can Mr Osborne realistically do? I don't want to see more money thrown at them with no end result. Banks wasted a lot of my time saying they were interested in my business, which designs fashion watches, but once I wanted a facility they all backed off. I'm hoping to hear more about the Business Bank [which is designed to boost non-bank finance providers] and how it will bring together the various funding initiatives that are out there. I feel sorry for an 18 year-old wanting to start a business at the moment - there's plenty of advice before you start, but little capital available to get your business going. It would also be good to see nationwide National Insurance breaks for the smallest companies.