Here, the Press Association takes a look at the key spending pledges and economic announcements the Chancellor has outlined.
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Chancellor → take → pledges
– Headroom
Mr Healey has lowered his fiscal headroom – the buffer the Government has above its self-imposed spending rules – to £15 billion in 2029-30.
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Government → lower → 2029
This is down from the £22 billion Rachel Reeves set out last year through raising taxes, but he said it would rise to match that figure in 2030-31.
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it → set → 2030
– Energy
A “cost control framework” to drive down bills will be brought in, he said.
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he → drive → bills
Standing charges on gas bills will be scrapped from next year, with fixed costs to be paid on the unit rate instead.
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costs → stand → rate
The Treasury said this could save 60% of households an average of £45 on their annual bills.
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this → say → bills
Similar reforms will follow for electricity bills, Mr Healey said.
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Healey → follow → bills
A VAT cut on electricity will be extended to July, which the Chancellor said would take £50 off the annual price cap.
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Chancellor → extend → cap
Energy payments of £100 will go to around 20 million households in council tax bands A to D.
A green levy – the Gas Shipper Obligation to fund hydrogen projects – will be axed from energy bills and put on to general taxation.
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levy → go → taxation
– Gambling
Gambling taxes will be hiked to pay for a high street support package, including by increasing machine games duty from 20% to 25% for higher stakes machines.
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taxes → hike → machines
– Motorists
The fuel duty freeze has been extended for the 16th year at 52p a litre, cancelling a planned increase set for January.
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freeze → extend → January
A higher tax-free mileage allowance of 55p will be made permanent.
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allowance → make → 55p
– Business
He said he would triple the trade allowance – the amount you can earn from a new venture tax-free – from £1,000 to £3,000, and bring in a new allowance to cover a year of living costs for young entrepreneurs.
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you → say → entrepreneurs
Read More
The British Business Bank will double its commitments to women-led businesses and funds to £200 million.
And there will be an increase in the threshold for small business rates relief for retail hospitality and leisure businesses from £12,000 to £18,000.
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– Housing and savings
The tax-free cash Isa limit will remain at £20,000, scrapping a plan to reduce it to £12,000.
The Lifetime Isa penalty for those buying homes that cost more than £450,000 will end, with a new First Time Buyer Isa replacing it.
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Isa → remain → it
The “Your First Home” equity loan scheme will get £4.7 billion of government-backed lending.
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scheme → get → lending
The rough sleeping programme will get a further £432 million to get people off the streets in England.
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people → sleep → England
The minimum wage for both under and over-21s will rise by 3.9%, ending the trend of hiking pay for those aged 18 to 20 on the national minimum wage more than older workers on the national living wage.
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wage → rise → wage
The Chancellor vowed to replace the Carers’ Allowance cliff-edge, which has penalised unpaid carers for going over their earnings limit, with a taper system.
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which → vow → system
Parental pay will be expanded to more than 150,000 parents each year, with self-employed fathers and partners made eligible for the first time.
– Pensions
Pensioners on low incomes will be shielded from income tax, as a new tax allowance is to be introduced for pensioners if increases to their payments take them over the threshold of £12,570.
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increases → expand → 12,570
– Defence
Mr Healey said he would “fully fund” Britain’s defence investment plan (Dip), Sir Keir Starmer’s plan that promised £15 billion but only committed £10.3 billion to fund it.
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that → say → it
The funding would come from moves including “capital reprioritisation across Whitehall”, the Chancellor said.
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Chancellor → come → Whitehall
Details of how the UK will meet its Nato commitment to spend 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035, with a target of 3% in 2030, will be set out at next year’s spending review.
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UK → meet → review
Ahead of that, he will launch a new “innovative defence finance taskforce”.
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he → launch → taskforce
Other measures include:
– Olympics
A £7 million fund will be used for a feasibility study into a possible future bid to hold the Olympics and Paralympics in northern England.
– Devolution
An initial £285 million will be allocated as part of a plan to give mayors and regional leaders in England more money and power to invest in projects in their areas.
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million → include → areas
The Aporia
