Jeremy Hunt has billions to play with, but where's he planning to spend it? Speculations from economists and political commentators about the autumn statement ranged from a national insurance cut and a raising of the income tax thresholds to slashing stamp duty and public service investment. Here's what's been announced.
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00:00 I now call the Chancellor to make the autumn statement.
00:02 Turn around.
00:04 I think what he's done is set a platform now
00:07 for us to turn the corner.
00:09 That from a responsible point of view,
00:11 it's done pretty much what we'd expected
00:14 and possibly a bit more.
00:15 The Chancellor has said he seeks to put the UK economy
00:18 back on track through the whole host of measures
00:21 announced in this year's autumn budget.
00:23 But what stood out from the statement?
00:25 Benefits will rise by 6.7% in line with inflation figures
00:29 from September.
00:30 The state pension will rise by 8.5% in line
00:33 with the normal measure of earnings
00:35 to £221 a week from April the 1st.
00:38 All alcohol duty has been frozen until August next year.
00:41 And there'll be £50 million for apprenticeships
00:44 in key growth sectors.
00:46 The Office for Budget Responsibility
00:48 say that the combined impact of these measures
00:51 will raise business investment, get more people into work,
00:55 reduce inflation next year, and increase GDP.
00:59 The autumn statement for 2023 comes at a vital time
01:03 for the UK, as Brits are both watching their wallets ahead
01:06 of the festive period, as well as
01:07 planning for the near future.
01:09 But political jargon aside, what do these announcements actually
01:12 mean for UK households?
01:15 Kevin Mountford is a personal finance expert
01:17 and shares his insights into what's been announced.
01:20 I think what we've seen is inflation coming down
01:23 at quite a rate, finally.
01:26 And obviously, the OBR, the Office for Budget Responsibility,
01:30 believes that it's going to come down further
01:34 by the end of next year.
01:35 And I think that means, then, it takes
01:37 the pressure off interest rates.
01:39 And whilst government borrowing has equally fallen,
01:42 which is a positive, it means that the cost of repaying
01:46 that debt is reduced significantly.
01:49 One of the major announcements that's
01:50 set to affect the largest number of people
01:52 is a lowering of national insurance from 12% down to 10%.
01:56 But what will that mean the next time you get your pay slip?
01:59 The 2% reduction will impact 27 million people because
02:03 of the band it's set.
02:05 And so for somebody on £25,000 a year,
02:09 it will save them £450 a year.
02:13 There's obviously an NHS surcharge coming in next year
02:16 that's already kind of baked into the plan.
02:19 But in terms of some tangible benefits,
02:22 then clearly that helps.
02:23 And finally, a focus on getting those out of work
02:26 back into employment to help prop up the economy
02:28 comes with a host of boosts to benefits.
02:32 We've got the national living wage rising by 9.8%
02:37 to £11.44 an hour.
02:39 And then obviously, in terms of universal credit,
02:42 that's going to increase next April by 6.7%.
02:46 So that's an average for 5 and 1/2 million households
02:51 next year of £470.
02:54 So what I'm saying is if we look at these things in isolation,
02:57 it might mean a few hundred pound.
02:59 If you're benefiting from two or three of these changes,
03:02 then that benefit compounds accordingly.