The week before last, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced his Autumn Statement, making clear the scale of the economic challenge facing the UK and his steps to address it. Personally, I welcome that he has taken tough, but fair decisions to restore economic stability, tackle inflation, and help vulnerable households with the cost of living.
I have summarised some of the key elements of it below:
To help households, the Chancellor has extended the Energy Bills Support Scheme until 2024 and there will be further help for those on means-tested benefits and for pensioners. Indeed, to further protect the vulnerable, I also welcome the Chancellor’s decision to increase benefits and pensions in line with inflation, honouring the State Pension ‘triple lock’ commitment, increasing both by 10.1 percent from next April.
The Chancellor has also given a pay rise to millions of low paid workers worth £1,600 a year, by increasing the National Living Wage by 9.7 percent.
There will also be increases in spending on the NHS and schools, and public spending will be maintained at the levels set out in 2021 for the next two years, after which public spending will once again rise in real terms.
The Chancellor was clear that everyone will need to pay slightly more in tax to help restore the public finances, but I welcome his determination that the burden will fall on those with the broadest shoulders.
In that sense, it is only fair that companies that have made genuine windfall profits as a result of high energy prices following the war in Ukraine, pay their fair share towards the support the Government is providing. The Government is therefore increasing the Energy Profits Levy from 25 to 35 percent from the 1st January 2023, and extending it to 2028.
Higher earners will also be asked to contribute more. The Chancellor has reduced the threshold of the 45p rate of Income Tax from £150,000 to £125,140, meaning that someone earning over £150,000 per year will pay an extra £1,200 in tax.
Headline rates of tax for workers will not increase - however, Income Tax thresholds will be frozen by a further two years, until April 2028, as will thresholds for National Insurance and Inheritance Tax.
With all that in mind, I thought it might also be helpful to share a link to a page from North Northamptonshire Council's website, where you can access support relating to the cost of living:
https://www.northnorthants.gov.uk/cost-living.
You can also find the full details of the Autumn Statement, here: