Winter Budget - Summary of Announcements - Liverpool Chamber of Commerce

Inflation is at 3.1%, and is expected to average over 4% over the next year.
Pressures caused by supply chain issues and the energy crisis will take months to heal
The Economy is set to return to its pre-COVID level at the turn of the year – an improvement on OBR forecasts revealed in March
In July last year, at the height of the pandemic, unemployment was expected to peak at 12% but the OBR now expect it to peak at 5.2%

New 50% business rates discount for businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, including pubs, music venues, cinemas, restaurants, hotels, theatres, and gyms
This will mean any eligible business can claim a discount up to a maximum of £110,000 – a tax cut worth almost £1.7bn
Together with small business rates relief, this means more than 90% of all businesses in these sectors will see a discount of at least 50%

National living wage to increase next year by 6.6% to £9.50 an hour. For a full time worker, that’s a pay rise worth over £1,000
This move will help more than two million of the lowest-paid workers, according to the Chancellor

The Chancellor says his goal is to reduce taxes and the universal credit taper, which reduces financial support as people work more hours, is in his sights
The rate is currently 63%, so for every extra £1 someone earns, their universal credit is reduced by 63p. Mr Sunak announces plans to cut this by 8 percentage points (from 63% to 55%). This will come into effect “within weeks”
Work allowances being increased by £500 – combined with the change to the taper, this is a tax cut worth more than £2bn, he says. Nearly two million families will keep, on average, an extra £1,000 a year

£46bn investment in railways, with an integrated rail plan to be published soon
£5.7bn for London-style transport settlements in Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Tees Valley, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, West Midlands, West of England
£21bn for roads as part of a larger investment in transport
£2.6bn for upgrades of over 50 local roads
More than £5bn for road maintenance – enough to fill one million more potholes a year
More than £5bn for buses, cycling and walking improvements
HGV levy (previously suspended until August) will now be suspended until 2023
Vehicle excise duty for heavy goods vehicles to be frozen
Funding to improve lorry park facilities

Underlying debt is forecast to be 85.2% of GDP this year
It will reach 85.4% in 2022-23, before peaking at 85.7% in 2023-24
Total departmental spending over this parliament will increase by £150bn, growing by 3.8% a year in real terms

Spending on healthcare to increase by £44bn to over £177bn by the end of this parliament
Extra revenue from health and social care levy will go towards NHS and social care as promised
Health budget will be the largest since 2010, with record investment in research and development, better screening, 40 new hospitals and 70 hospital upgrades

The budget funds an ambition to recruit 20,000 new police officers
Extra £2.2bn for courts, prisons and probation services, including £500m to reduce the backlog in courts
Programmes to tackle neighbourhood crime, reoffending, county lines crimes, violence against women and girls, victims’ services, and improved response to rape allegations
£3.8bn for the “largest prison-building programme in a generation”

£11.5bn to build up to 180,000 affordable home – 20% more than the previous programme
£1.8bn to bring 1,500 hectares of brownfield land into use
£640m a year to help those who are rough sleepers and homeless

£300m for parenting programmes for families, tailored services to help with perinatal mental health
£150m to support training and development for early years workforce

£200m for Supporting Families programme which helps families with varied needs
Over £200m to continue the holiday activity and food programme
£560m for youth services – enough to fund up to 300 youth clubs in England
More than £200m to build or transform up to 8,000 community football pitches in the UK
£2bn new funding to help schools and colleges, bringing total support (some already announced) to almost £5bn
Restoring per pupil funding to 2010 levels in real terms, equivalent to a cash increase for every pupil of more than £1,500
30,000 new school places for children with special needs and disabilities

An overhaul of alcohol duty, cutting the number of main duty rates from 15 to six – the stronger the drink, the higher the rate
Small producer relief will extend the principle of small brewers’ relief to small cider makers and others making alcoholic drinks of less than 8.5% ABV
Sparkling wines will pay the same duty as still wines of equivalent strength, rather than the 28% they currently pay. Duty will also be cut for fruit cider

Planned rise in fuel duty will be cancelled, meaning that – after 12 consecutive years of frozen rates, the average car driver will save a total of £1,900

Flights between airports in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will be subject to a new lower rate of air passenger duty from April 2023
Nine million people will see air passenger duty costs cut in half and the move will boost regional airports
Financial support for English airport extended for a further six months
An ultra long haul band will be added to air passenger duty, covering flights of over 5,500 miles, with an economy rate of £91. Mr Sunak says less than 5% of passengers will pay more but those who fly furthest will pay the most

Want to be featured in our news?

Fill out our news submission form and we will review.