Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has today unveiled the contents of his Spring Budget Statement in the House of Commons.
Our full detailed version will be posted on our website shortly but here is a summary of the key measures that were announced.
Employment
- 30 hours of free childcare for working parents in England expanded to cover one and two-year-olds – and will eventually cover all children from the age of nine months
- Families on Universal Credit to receive childcare support up front instead of in arrears, with the £646-a-month per child cap being raised to £951.
- £600 “incentive payments” for those becoming childminders, and a review of the current rules in England to let childminders look after more children.
- New fitness-to-work testing regime introduced to qualify for health-related benefits.
- Work Capability Assessment will be abolished and funding for up to 50,000 places on a new voluntary employment scheme called Universal Support for disabled people.
- Tougher requirements to look for employment and increased job support for lead child carers on Universal Credit.
- More places on “skills boot camps” to encourage those over 50 who have left their jobs to return to the workplace
- Immigration rules to be relaxed for five roles in the construction sector, to help ease labour shortages.
Taxation
- Cap on the amount workers can accumulate in pensions savings over their lifetime before having to pay extra tax (currently £1.07m) to be abolished.
- Tax-free yearly allowance for pension pot to rise from £40,000 to £60,000.
- Fuel duty frozen – the 5p cut to fuel duty on petrol and diesel, due to end in April, extended for another year.
- Alcohol taxes to rise in line with inflation from August, with new reliefs for beer, cider, and wine sold in pubs
- Tax on tobacco to increase by 2% above inflation, and 6% above inflation for hand-rolling tobacco.
Energy
- Energy Price Guarantee to continue at its current rate, which limits a typical annual household bill to £2,500 extended until the end of June.
- Energy charges for prepayment meters will be brought into line with prices for customers paying by direct debit which currently affects around 4m people in the UK.
- Commitment to invest £20bn over the next two decades on low-carbon energy projects
- Nuclear energy is to be classed as environmentally sustainable for investment purposes, with the promise of more public funding.
- £63m to be invested to help leisure centres with rising swimming pool heating costs, and invest to become more energy efficient.
Businesses
- The main rate of corporation tax, paid by businesses on taxable profits over £250,000, will increase from 19% to 25%
- Companies able to deduct investment in new machinery and technology to lower their taxable profits
- Tax breaks and other benefits for 12 new Investment Zones across the UK, funded by £80m each over the next five years.
Keep an eye on our website for a full and detailed summary of the 2023 Spring Budget.
Source: BBC
| If you have any questions or need advice on any of the above announcements from the Spring Budget, please do not hesitate to contact us. |
