The Chancellor has just delivered his Spring Statement to Parliament, which sets out how we will help with the cost of living for working families.
We have to be honest that we can’t fix everything. Global energy prices are pushing up the price of fuel and food, and there is a high degree of uncertainty in the economic outlook.
But this plan delivers the biggest net cut to personal taxes in over a quarter of a century.
Here are the headline announcements:
- We are cutting fuel duty by 5p for 12 months.
- We are raising the threshold for National Insurance to £12,500 from July, meaning most people - 7 out of 10 - will pay less tax even after the new NHS and Social Care Levy. This means we can still have a sustainable way to fund vital public services but can also cut taxes worth over £330 a year for 30 million working people.
- We will be cutting the basic rate of Income Tax to 19p from 2024 - the first income tax cut for 16 years, worth £5 billion to over 30 million workers, savers and pensioners.
- We are raising the Employment Allowance, which means half a million small businesses will benefit up to £1,000 per business.
- We are cutting VAT on energy-saving materials to help households transition to lower energy use. A typical family will save £1,000 on putting rooftop solar panels in and £300 a year on energy bills thereafter.
- We are doubling the Household Support Fund to £1 billion for councils to support the most vulnerable.
- We are consulting on a range of measures to stimulate private sector growth - on business capital investment and research and development.
This is all in addition to the changes we made in the Autumn Budget and at the beginning of the year, including:
- Cutting the Universal Credit Taper rate.
- Increasing rental benefits (Local Housing Allowance).
- Extending the school holidays food and activities programme.
- Raising the minimum wages.
- Investing billions in new skills to get people into higher-paid work.
- Our £9 billion energy support plan.
