Jeremy Hunt has said the British economy is “proving the doubters wrong” in the face of “enormous challenges”
Delivering his first budget as Chancellor he announces that that The UK will not enter a technical recession this year according to the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast
The UK, he says according to the forecast will grow 1.8%, 2.5%, 2.1% and 1.9% up to 2027.
Inflation will fall to 2.9 per cent by the end of this year compared to the current 10.7 per cent
In order to control inflation the Chancellor has announced that fuel duty will remain frozen for another year and the 5p cut in the price of petrol and diesel will remain in place
This will save the average driver £100 a year he tells the House of Commons
He confirms that the energy price guarantee is being extended and adds that over 4m households on pre-payment meters will get help.
Their charges will now be aligned with direct debit charges.
The duty on draught beer and cider will be cut on the 1st August which he calls a “Brexit pubs guarantee”.
The Chancellor says that the plan for tackling debt is “on track” – with public debt falling as proportion of GDP by fifth year of forecast.
He adds that he will meet his 3% annual deficit target in 5 years’ time with a £39bn buffer
The Chancellor confirmed the government would add £11 billion to the defence budget over the next five years.
Hunt said: “I confirm we’ll add a total of £11bn to our defence budget over the next five years and it will be nearly 2.25% of GDP by 2025.”
On investment the Chancellor has announced a three-year policy of “full expensing” for businesses
It will mean every pound a company invests in IT equipment, plant or machinery can be deducted “in full and immediately” from taxable profits, a move worth £9 billion a year.
The Chancellor has confirmed plans reported that Greater Manchester will be one of the new investment zones
From April 2024, local authorities will take responsibility for economic development from Local Enterprise Partnerships
The Chancellor has also confirmed csingle multi-year funding settlements for Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester and Andy Street in West Midlands and the region will be allowed to retain 100 per cent of its business rates
He says he intends to roll this out across all city region areas eventually
This will be a significant and welcome evolution in devolution giving flexibility for Mayors to plan strategically, rather than continually bid for ring-fenced pots.
There will be a new Levelling Up Partnerships for areas including Oldham and Rochdale using a £400m fund
On energy the Chancellor announced that Nuclear will be reclassified as “environmentally sustainable” to open access to the same investment incentives as renewable energy.
On employment there will be new Universal Support programme will help disabled people & those with long-term help conditions to find jobs & stay in work.
Disabled people will now be able to seek work without fear of losing right to benefits, says the Chancellor
Hunt also announced that work capability assessments are being scrapped
Jeremy Hunt has announced that he is abolishing the lifetime allowance on pensions savings entirely.He had been expected to raise it from £1.07m to £1.8m
‘No one should be pushed out of the workforce for tax reasons’ he told the Commons
The annual allowance will rise from £40,000 to £60,000
On childcare, Hunt says he wants a further 1m mothers to rejoin the workforce
All households where both adults work at least 16 hours will be entitled to 30 hours of free childcare for all children over 9 months, but the introduction will be delayed and phased
