Autumn Statement 2023: What will it mean for you?
Jeremy Hunt has billions to play with, but where's he planning to spend it? Speculations from economists and political commentators about the autumn statement ranged from a national insurance cut and a raising of the income tax thresholds to slashing stamp duty and public service investment. Here's what's been announced.
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00:00 I now call the Chancellor to make the autumn statement.
00:02 Turn around.
00:04 I think what he's done is set a platform now
00:07 for us to turn the corner.
00:09 That from a responsible point of view,
00:11 it's done pretty much what we'd expected
00:14 and possibly a bit more.
00:15 The Chancellor has said he seeks to put the UK economy
00:18 back on track through the whole host of measures
00:21 announced in this year's autumn budget.
00:23 But what stood out from the statement?
00:25 Benefits will rise by 6.7% in line with inflation figures
00:29 from September.
00:30 The state pension will rise by 8.5% in line
00:33 with the normal measure of earnings
00:35 to £221 a week from April the 1st.
00:38 All alcohol duty has been frozen until August next year.
00:41 And there'll be £50 million for apprenticeships
00:44 in key growth sectors.
00:46 The Office for Budget Responsibility
00:48 say that the combined impact of these measures
00:51 will raise business investment, get more people into work,
00:55 reduce inflation next year, and increase GDP.
00:59 The autumn statement for 2023 comes at a vital time
01:03 for the UK, as Brits are both watching their wallets ahead
01:06 of the festive period, as well as
01:07 planning for the near future.
01:09 But political jargon aside, what do these announcements actually
01:12 mean for UK households?
01:15 Kevin Mountford is a personal finance expert
01:17 and shares his insights into what's been announced.
01:20 I think what we've seen is inflation coming down
01:23 at quite a rate, finally.
01:26 And obviously, the OBR, the Office for Budget Responsibility,
01:30 believes that it's going to come down further
01:34 by the end of next year.
01:35 And I think that means, then, it takes
01:37 the pressure off interest rates.
01:39 And whilst government borrowing has equally fallen,
01:42 which is a positive, it means that the cost of repaying
01:46 that debt is reduced significantly.
01:49 One of the major announcements that's
01:50 set to affect the largest number of people
01:52 is a lowering of national insurance from 12% down to 10%.
01:56 But what will that mean the next time you get your pay slip?
01:59 The 2% reduction will impact 27 million people because
02:03 of the band it's set.
02:05 And so for somebody on £25,000 a year,
02:09 it will save them £450 a year.
02:13 There's obviously an NHS surcharge coming in next year
02:16 that's already kind of baked into the plan.
02:19 But in terms of some tangible benefits,
02:22 then clearly that helps.
02:23 And finally, a focus on getting those out of work
02:26 back into employment to help prop up the economy
02:28 comes with a host of boosts to benefits.
02:32 We've got the national living wage rising by 9.8%
02:37 to £11.44 an hour.
02:39 And then obviously, in terms of universal credit,
02:42 that's going to increase next April by 6.7%.
02:46 So that's an average for 5 and 1/2 million households
02:51 next year of £470.
02:54 So what I'm saying is if we look at these things in isolation,
02:57 it might mean a few hundred pound.
02:59 If you're benefiting from two or three of these changes,
03:02 then that benefit compounds accordingly.