With the dust having settled on the Budget, it’s a good time for considered reflection rather than the inevitable soundbites demanded two seconds after the Chancellor sits down.

So, what business wanted from the Budget was fairly straightforward – measures to lock in the recovery, get investment going and boost exports.

In what was seen by many as a make-or-break Budget, is that what we got? Well, from every company that I’ve spoken with since, the answer is a resounding yes.

Britain’s entrepreneurs are pleased, as they believe this has put the wind in the sails of the recovery.

It’s getting behind exporters, it’s getting behind business investment and it’s gone a long way in helping a lot of manufacturers who were suffering from higher energy costs – particularly those in energy intensive industries.

We now need some action at EU level to see a credible target for reducing carbon emissions.

Exporters will benefit from the doubling of the direct lending scheme.

Unfortunately, it is still true that so many companies are unaware of what is out there, so the key will be for the government to raise awareness and promote those schemes. Of course those same exporters cannot do everything from a desk in the UK – they need to get out to their markets.

With the UK’s air taxes the highest in the EU, it’s good to see the Chancellor taking action to tackle the most damaging aspects of this tax. But there is still more to do to cut costs on short- and long-haul routes.

Where business investment is concerned, companies were not investing because they had no confidence that the economy was on the up. Now confidence has returned, it was just the time for the Chancellor to nudge those investment plans over the line.

And he said it himself – 99% of UK entrepreneurs now won’t pay tax this year on those investments.

In my view, that must be right. We don’t want a recovery which is based on debt-driven consumption.

The big surprise was, of course, the announcements on savings and pensions. This was not only welcome but good news, because business needs consumers who have money in their pocket.

We need people that can save and then spend and that’s a lot better than them spending money they don’t have.