Autumn Statement News Special

Today, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced a range of tax and spending plans as part of the Government’s Autumn Statement.

We share a rundown of some of the key plans outlined earlier:

Minimum Wage to Rise

The National Living Wage is set to increase from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour from April 2024.

This represents a rise of 9.8% and can be worth up to £1,800 extra per year for a full-time worker – what Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has referred to as “the largest ever cash increase” in the National Living Wage.

Benefits to Increase

Benefits will increase next year by 6.7%, which is the inflation rate for September. This applies across working-age benefits such as Universal Credit and disability benefits.

State Pension to Increase

The Government will increase the state pension by 8.5% to £221.20 a week, worth up to £900 more a year from April 2024.

The Chancellor will also begin consulting on further pension reforms, including a proposal to give ‘one pension pot for life’ which involves giving pension savers the legal right that their employer pays contributions into their existing pension – with the Government estimating that this could unlock an extra £1,000 a year for the average earner saving from the age of 18.

National Insurance Reductions

The National Insurance rate cut from 12% to 10% from 6th January 2024.

‘Class 2’ National Insurance rates for self-employed people earning above £12,570 will be abolished, saving £192 a year for the average self-employed person.

There will be savings for self-employed people paying ‘Class 4’ National Insurance (earning between £12,570 - £50,270) as the rate is being cut by 1% down to 8% from April 2024.

Business Rate Relief Extended

The 75% discount on business rates up to £110,000 discount for retail hospitality and leisure businesses will be extended for another year, and the Government will freeze the small business multiplier for a further year.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt says these measures will save the average independent shop over £20,000 and the average independent pub over £12,800 next year.

Clean Energy Plans

The Government has pledged reform for the time it takes for clean energy businesses to access the electricity grid by 90%. As part of these plans there will also be measures to enable discounts of up to £10,000 off electricity bills over 10 years for those living closest to new transmission infrastructure.

Local Housing Allowance Rises

The Local Housing Allowance will rise to £800 next year, helping out over 1.6m households next year. This is designed to help people on benefits to pay their rent to a private landlord, and has previously been frozen since 2020, despite rents rising sharply.

Additional Announcements

There will be a further rise to Tobacco Duty – with an extra 10% increase applied to hand-rolled tobacco, above the existing tobacco duty escalator. Meanwhile, alcohol duty remains unchanged until at least 1st August 2024.

An additional £4.5bn has been pledged to be invested into manufacturing by 2030, including support for aerospace firms, life sciences and new green industry firms.

The Government will invest £500m into new ‘innovation centres’ across the UK to make the country an “AI powerhouse” across the next two years.

Source: BBC (2023) Live Autumn Statement. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-67491863  (Accessed 22nd Nov 2023)

All the information in this article is correct as of the publish date 22nd November 2023. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. The information provided in this article, including text, graphics and images does not, and is not intended to, substitute advice; instead, all information, content and materials available in this article are for general informational purposes only. Information in this article may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information.

YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.

Identity Financial Solutions Limited is an appointed representative of HL Partnership Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Number 471900.

Identity Financial Solutions Limited is a company registered in England and Wales. The registered office address is 6 George Street, Alderley Edge, Cheshire, SK9 7EJ.

A fee may be charged. Full details will be provided before you proceed, if you wish to use our services.