The household support fund, introduced by the government in 2021 to help families struggling with the cost of living, has been extended by six months. The top of a taper to withdraw the benefit will be raised to £80,000 from £60,000 at the moment. He says the threshold will be for a high income tax charge on the benefit will be raised from £50,000 to £60,000. Hunt announces a consultation on child benefit rules, to apply it to collective household incomes rather than for individuals from April 2026. PW: The idea of a “paperless” NHS is also by no means new, although it seems Hunt is pledging some extra money to make it more efficient. In the next spending review, the Treasury will prioritise applications for money from departments that show potential savings for the public purse in the long term. “I want this groundbreaking agreement with the NHS to be a model for all our public services” including education, the police, courts and public government, Hunt says. He adds: “We need a more productive state, not a bigger state.” Hunt announces a “landmark public sector productivity plan” will be published today, including cutting form filling by doctors using AI, digitising hospital processes and improving the NHS app. Arguing that the solution is not about money but “a more productive state” might cheer some Tory MPs and thinktanks, but is always easier to say than deliver. PW: In talking about public services, Hunt faces the problem experienced by Rishi Sunak at every prime minister’s questions – he has to argue they are performing well, when more or less every voter in the UK disagrees. Military spending will rise to 2.5% of GDP “as soon as economic conditions allow”, Hunt says. The chancellor has kept a 1% increase in day-to-day public spending above inflation, despite speculation it would be cut to just 0.75%. It is not a coincidence that Hunt faces a very strong Lib Dem challenge to keep his Surrey constituency. PW: Election looming, anyone? Hunt’s section on borrowing and debt is launched with an attack not just on Labour but also the Liberal Democrats. “By the end of the forecast, borrowing is at its lowest level of GDP since 2001,” he adds. “We continue to have the second lowest level of government debt in the G7, lower than Japan, France or the US,” he adds. Hunt says underlying debt, which excludes Bank of England debt, will be 91.7% of GDP in 2024-25 according to the OBR, then 92.8%, 93.2%, 93.2% before falling to 92.9% in 2028-29. Falling inflation is also something that you don’t need a focus group to realise it will be welcomed by voters, whoever gets the credit. PW: Inflation is something of a rare political safe zone for Hunt and Sunak, given it looks like the only one of the PM’s five pledges to be met. The figure is down sharply from a peak of 11.1% in October 2022, as food and energy prices have eased. The Bank of England’s long-term target is to keep inflation at a “low and stable” 2%. “Nearly a whole year earlier than forecast in the autumn statement,” he adds. Inflation is expected to fall below the government’s 2% target in “just a few months’ time”, Hunt says, down from 4% in January. This is the big, and perhaps insurmountable, challenge the government faces. PW: For all that successive fiscal statements have been billed as a “budget for growth”, even these forecasts are fairly anaemic, and unlikely to instil new hope in Tory MPs facing electoral defeat. Growth is then forecast to be 2% in 2026 before dipping to 1.8% and 1.7% in 20. That is slightly stronger than the 0.7% and 1.4% growth rate expected by the Office for Budget Responsibility at the time of the autumn statement in November. Hunt says the economy is expected to grow by 0.8% this year and 1.9% in 2025. Hunt says the “long-term ambition” is to cut it further when possible. It will be popular with Tory MPs – but the same ruse was tried in the autumn statement, and did not shift the polls at all. PW: This is the worst-kept fiscal secret in Westminster, as briefed and reported more or less everywhere. It is estimated that the 2p cut to national insurance would be worth about £450 a year for someone on a £35,000 full-time salary. This comes on top of a 2p cut in the autumn statement in November, which reduced the rate from 12% to 10%. Hunt confirms that the national insurance contribution rate will be cut from 10% to 8% of pay from April. Peter Walker, deputy political editor: Anyone who had forgotten this is an election year will have been reminded after Hunt launched into an overtly political opening section, which criticised Labour’s supposed spending plans before he set out even one of his own.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |