The Chancellor today announced to Parliament the Government’s Spring Budget, which delivers on our priorities to halve inflation, reduce debt, and grow the economy. The Budget included important plans for childcare, employment, and enterprise, as well as for the Government’s broader plan to level up growth across the UK.
Aimed at achieving long-term, sustainable economic growth that delivers prosperity for the people of the United Kingdom, the Spring Budget breaks down barriers to work, unshackles business investment and tackles labour shortages head on.
Key pledges in the Budget include:
- 30 hours a week of free childcare from 9 months to 4 years, and increasing the amount of Universal Credit support for childcare costs by almost 50%
- £600 for new childminders, rising to £1,200 for those joining through an agency
- Nearly doubling the tax-free allowance for foster carers from £10,000 to £18,000
- Cutting taxes for businesses that invest in the UK
- Energy Price Guarantee to continue at £2,500 for an additional three months until July 2023
- Ending the pre-payment meter premium and bringing customers in line with direct debit payments, saving households £45 a year on average
- A new Universal Support programme which will help disabled people & those with long-term health conditions to find jobs & stay in work
- Fuel duty frozen
- £20 billion for carbon capture & storage initiatives
- £1 billion for the Government’s Levelling Up fund to be given to local communities, with an additional £400 million for towns and cities through Levelling Up Partnerships
- Reforming pension allowances to encourage highly skilled workers, such as doctors, to remain in the labour market, and help to tackle NHS waiting lists
- £8.8 billion for additional local transport funding in England
- Duty on draught beer frozen
- Fixing 4 million potholes
- £63 million to support public leisure centres with swimming pools
Accompanying forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility confirm that with the package of measures the Chancellor has set out today, the economy is on track to grow with inflation halved this year and debt falling – meeting all of the Government’s economic priorities. This comes alongside the confirmation that there are no new tax rises within the Budget.
For full details of the Spring Budget, please visit the following weblink: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spring-budget-2023
