On Wednesday, 22nd November 2017 the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered the Budget speech: the Government’s financial plan including the approximate costs and revenue of the Government. The speech is used to make big policy announcements and there were many announcements which will interest the readers of this E-Newsletter. Here are just some of them:
NHS: The Budget was good news for the NHS which will receive an extra £6.3 billion in funding over the remainder of this Parliament. This includes £3.5 billion of capital investment for buildings and facilities and £2.8 billion of additional resourcing funding earmarked for day-to-day spending such as surgeries and treatments.
HOUSING: Another major policy announced was that the Government is setting a target to deliver 300,000 new homes per year. Not only will more houses be built, but this Government is determined to help people get onto the housing ladder by abolishing the stamp duty for first time buyers buying a home of up to £300,000. Furthermore, for properties costing up to £500,000, no stamp duty will be paid on the first £300,000: an effective discount of £5,000 for a property of £500,000.
In the past, I have received a large amount of correspondence from my constituents about fuel duty, beer duty and Universal Credit and I am pleased to inform readers that the Budget addressed all three issues.
FUEL DUTY: The planned rise in fuel duty was cancelled and fuel duty will now be frozen for the eighth consecutive year resulting in the average car driver now being £850 better off since 2010.
BEER DUTY: The Government is supporting the pub trade by freezing the duties on normal strength ciders, wines, spirits and beers.
BENEFITS: On the issue of Universal Credit, this Government has listened to those who have raised concerns about some practical difficulties that have been seen with the roll-out and has decided to remove the 7-day waiting period whilst also increasing the amount of advance payments available to claimants so that – if needed – a household can receive a full month’s claim within 5 days.
The Budget has been well received, and I am pleased to support the measures announced.