The Chancellor’s speech
Mr Speaker. After a global pandemic and energy crisis, we have taken difficult decisions to put our economy back on track. We have supported families with rising bills, cut borrowing and halved inflation.
Rather than a recession, the economy has grown. Rather than falling as predicted, real incomes have risen. Our plan for the British economy is working. But the work is not done. Under this Prime Minister we take decisions for the long term.
In today’s Autumn Statement for Growth our choice is not big government, high spending and high tax because we know that leads to less growth, not more. Instead we reduce debt, cut taxes and reward work. We deliver world class education. We build domestic sustainable energy.
And we back British business with 110 growth measures – don’t worry, I’m not going to go through them all – but in summary they…
…remove planning red tape
…speed up access to the national grid
…support entrepreneurs raising capital
…get behind our fastest growing industries
…unlock foreign direct investment
…boost productivity
…reform welfare
…level up opportunity to every corner of the country
…and cut business taxes.
The Office for Budget Responsibility say that the combined impact of these measures will raise business investment, get more people into work, reduce inflation next year and increase GDP. A dynamic economy depends on the energy and enterprise of people more than any diktats or decisions by ministers.
So, today’s measures do not just remove barriers to investment, they reward effort and work. I will go through the measures in three parts.
In the first, I will use updated OBR forecasts to show the progress we are making against the Prime Minister’s economic priorities.
The second part sets out growth measures to back British business.
Finally, I conclude with measures to make work pay.
Progress on the Prime Minister’s priorities
Before I start with the forecasts, I want to express my horror at the murderous attack on Israeli citizens on October 7th and the subsequent loss of life on both sides. I will remember for the rest of my life – as I know many other hon members will – being taken to Auschwitz by the Rabbi Barry Marcus and the remarkable Holocaust Educational Trust. But I am deeply concerned about the rise of antisemitism in our country. So, I am announcing up to £7m over the next three years for organisations like the Holocaust Educational Trust to tackle antisemitism in schools and universities. I will also repeat the £3m uplift to the Community Security Trust.
When it comes to anti-Semitism and all forms of racism, we must never allow the clock to be turned back.
I now move on to the OBR’s economic and fiscal forecasts, and I thank Richard Hughes and his team for their sterling work in preparing them. Three of my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister’s five pledges at the start of the year were economic: to halve inflation, grow the economy and reduce debt. Today I can report to the House that we are delivering on all three.
Inflation
Let’s start with inflation. When the Prime Minister and I took office, inflation was at 11.1%. Last week, it fell to 4.6%. We promised to halve inflation and we have halved it. Core inflation is now lower than in nearly half of the economies in the EU. And the OBR say headline inflation will fall to 2.8% by the end of 2024, before falling to the 2% target in 2025.
I will not take risks with inflation, and the OBR confirm that the measures I take today make inflation lower next year than it would otherwise have been. I thank the Independent Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee for their crucial role in bringing down inflation. We will continue to back them to do whatever it takes until the job is done. But as we do, we will continue to support families in difficulty.
Today I add four further measures to help with the cost of living. Firstly, for those on the lowest incomes. I understand the concerns some have about the effect on work incentives of matching benefit increases to inflation.
I know there has been some speculation that we would increase benefits next year by the lower October figure for inflation. But cost of living pressures remain at their most acute for the poorest families. So instead, the government has decided to increase Universal Credit and other benefits from next April by 6.7% in line with September’s inflation figure, an average increase of £470 for 5.5m households next year. Vital support to those on the very lowest incomes.
Second, because rent can constitute more than half the living costs of private renters on the lowest incomes, I have listened closely to many colleagues as well as the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Resolution Foundation, Citizens Advice UK and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation who said unfreezing the Local Housing Allowance was an ‘urgent priority’.
I will therefore increase the Local Housing Allowance rate to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This will give 1.6 million households an average of £800 of support next year.
Third, although I am going to increase duty on hand-rolling tobacco by an additional 10% above the tobacco duty escalator, I know that for many people going to the pub has become more expensive. I have listened closely to the persuasive arguments on alcohol duties from my Honourable Friend for Moray and my Rt Hon Friend for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, fierce champions of the Scotch whisky industry. I’ve also listened to defenders of the great British pint such as my Rt Honourable Friends for the Vale of Glamorgan and Buckingham; in my constituency to Councillor Jane Austin who is a big supporter of the Jolly Farmer pub in Bramley; and indeed to The Sun newspaper. So, as well as confirming our Brexit Pubs Guarantee, which means duty on a pint is always lower than in the shops, I have decided to freeze all alcohol duty until August 1st next year. That means no increase in duty on beer, cider, wine or spirits.
Finally, pensioners. The triple lock has helped lift 250,000 older people out of poverty since it was instituted in 2011 and been a lifeline for many during a period of high inflation. There have been reports that we would uprate it by a lower amount to smooth out the effect of high public sector bonuses in July, but that would have been particularly difficult for one million pensioners whose only income is from the state.
So instead, today we honour our commitment to the triple lock in full. From April 2024, we will increase the full new state pension by 8.5% to £221.20 a week, worth up to £900 more a year. That is one of the largest ever cash increases to the state pension – showing this government will always back our pensioners.
Including today’s measures, our total commitment to easing cost of living pressures has risen to £104 billion. That includes paying around half the cost of the average energy bill since last October and amounts to an average of £3700 per household.
We are able to do that only because we reduced the deficit by 80% ahead of the pandemic.
Borrowing and debt
Next, I turn to my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister’s pledge to reduce debt. Before I took difficult decisions at last year’s Autumn Statement, debt was predicted to rise to almost 100% of GDP by the end of the forecast. Since then, the economy has outperformed expectations and I have taken difficult decisions to reduce borrowing. As a result, headline debt is now predicted to be 94% of GDP by the end of the forecast. The OBR today forecast underlying debt will be 91.6% of GDP next year, 92.7% in 2024-25, 93.2% in 2026-27, before declining in the final two years of the forecast to 92.8% in 2028-29. That is lower in every year compared to forecasts in the Spring. We therefore meet our fiscal rule to have underlying debt falling as a percentage of GDP in the final year of the forecast, with double the headroom compared to the OBR’s March forecast.
And we continue to have the second lowest government debt in the G7 – lower than the United States, Canada, France, Italy or Japan.
I turn to borrowing. According to the OBR, borrowing is lower this year and next, and on average across the forecast by £0.7 billion every year compared to the Spring Budget forecasts. It falls from 4.5% of GDP in 2023-24, to 3.0%, 2.7%, 2.3%, 1.6% and 1.1% in 2028-29. That means we also meet our second fiscal rule – that public sector borrowing must be below 3% of GDP – not just by the final year, but in almost every year of the forecast. Some of this improvement is from higher tax receipts from a stronger economy, but we also maintain a disciplined approach to public spending.
As I set out in the Spring Budget, resource spending will increase by 1% a year from 2025-26 in real terms and we are sustaining the record 2020 increase in capital spending in cash terms until the end of the forecast. Within this, we will meet our NATO commitment to spend 2% of our GDP on defence, critical at a time of global threats to the international order most notably from Putin’s evil war in Ukraine. We also support a group of people to whom we owe our freedom: our brave veterans. I will extend National Insurance relief for employers of eligible veterans for a further year and provide £10m to support the Veterans’ Places, Pathways and People programme. We have shown that we are prepared to increase funding for vital public services, with record numbers of police officers, doctors, nurses and teachers. We are nearly doubling the numbers of doctors and nurses we train, having given the NHS its first ever long-term workforce plan, as I promised to do a year ago. We are also tackling the greatest single preventable cause of mortality the NHS has to deal with by bringing forward plans for a smokefree generation. But alongside extra funding and support, we need to see reform. We need a more productive state not a bigger one.
That is why I want the public sector to increase productivity growth by at least half a percent a year, the level at which the size of our state starts to reduce as a proportion of GDP. I have already announced plans to cap and reduce the size of the Civil Service to pre-pandemic levels. Today I pay tribute to the excellent former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Rt Hon Member for Salisbury, who started our Public Sector Productivity Programme. It will now be pursued by his formidable successor, the Rt Hon Member for Sevenoaks who has already been with me to meet police, fire and ambulance personnel to understand where bureaucracy is holding them back. Through this vital work we will ensure that over time the growth in public spending is lower than the growth in the economy whilst always protecting the services the public value. I will also provide HMRC with the resources they need to ensure everyone pays the tax they owe, raising an additional £5 billion across the forecast period.
Growth
My Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister also promised to grow the economy. Since 2010, we have presided over faster growth than many of our major competitors including Spain, Italy, France, Germany or Japan. But all of us have faced a pandemic and energy shock. As a result, last autumn the OBR forecast a recession in which the economy was expected to shrink by 1.4% in 2023. Instead, it grew – in fact it has grown faster than the Euro area. Revised numbers from the ONS now say the economy is 1.8% larger than pre-pandemic.
And looking ahead, the OBR expects the economy to grow by 0.6% this year and 0.7% next year. After that, growth rises to 1.4% in 2025, then 1.9% in 2026, 2% in 2027 and 1.7% in 2028. If we want those numbers to be higher, we need higher productivity. The private sector is more productive in countries like the United States, Germany and France because it invests more – on average 2 percentage points more of GDP every year. The 110 measures I take today help close that gap by boosting business investment by £20 billion a year. They unlock investment with supply side reforms that back British business in the following areas.
Growth measures
Skills
First, skills. No economy can prosper without investing in the potential of its people. Despite strong opposition, we took the difficult decisions to reform our schools. England’s 9-10-year-olds are now the 4th best readers in the world and since 2015 our 15–16-year-olds have risen 7 places in the OECD rankings for maths, thanks not least to the efforts of the brilliant Rt Hon Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton. But 9 million adults in England still have low basic literacy or numeracy skills. Last month the Prime Minister set out the new Advanced British Standard to ensure all school leavers reach minimum standards in maths and English.
So following engagement with Make UK and others, I am announcing funding of £50m over the next two years to pilot ways to increase the number of apprentices in engineering and other key growth sectors.
Infrastructure, housing and planning
Next, planning. It takes too long to approve infrastructure projects and business planning applications. Many businesses say they would be willing to pay more if they knew their application would be approved faster. So, from next year, working with the Communities Secretary, I will reform the system to allow local authorities to recover the full costs of major business planning applications in return for being required to meet guaranteed faster timelines. If they fail, fees will be refunded automatically with the application being processed free of charge.
A prompt service or your money back – just as would be the case in the private sector.
Many planning applications are for housebuilding so today we take further decisions to unlock the building of more homes. We will invest £110m over this year and next to deliver high quality nutrient mitigation schemes, unlocking 40,000 homes. We will invest £32m to bust the planning backlog and develop fantastic new housing quarters in Cambridge, London and Leeds which will lead to many thousands of additional dwellings. We will allocate £450m to the Local Authority Housing Fund to deliver 2400 new homes. And we will consult on a new Permitted Development Right to allow any house to be converted into two flats provided the exterior remains unaffected.
It is also taking too long for clean energy businesses to access the electricity grid. So, after talking to businesses such as National Grid, Octopus Energy and SSE, we today publish our full response to the Winser review and Connections Action Plan. These measures will cut grid access delays by 90% and offer up to £10,000 off electricity bills over 10 years for those living closest to new transmission infrastructure. Taken together these planning and grid reforms are estimated to accelerate around £90 billion of additional business investment over the next 10 years.
FDI
Next, foreign direct investment. I am extremely grateful to Lord Harrington for his excellent report on how to increase foreign direct investment. We accept all his headline recommendations. In particular, we will put in place a concierge service for large international investors modelled on the best such services offered by our competitors and will increase funding for the Office for Investment to deliver it.
Pension fund reforms
I now turn to pension fund reforms that will increase the flow of capital going to our most promising growth companies in a way that also improves outcomes for savers. I will take forward my Mansion House reforms starting with measures to consolidate the industry. By 2030, the majority of workplace DC savers will have their pension pots managed in schemes of over £30 billion and by 2040 all local government pension funds will be invested in pools of £200 billion or more.
I will support the establishment of investment vehicles for pension funds to use including through the LIFTS competition, a new Growth Fund run by the British Business Bank and opening the PPF as an investment vehicle for smaller DB pension schemes.
I will also consult on giving savers a legal right to require a new employer to pay pension contributions into their existing pension pot if they choose, meaning people can move to having one pension pot for life. These reforms could help unlock an extra £75 billion of financing for high growth companies by 2030 and provide an extra £1000 a year in retirement for an average earner saving from 18.
Alongside this, I am also progressing further capital market reforms to boost the attractiveness of our markets, and the UK one of the most attractive places to start, grow and list a company. As part of this I will explore options for a NatWest retail share offer in the next 12 months subject to supportive market conditions and achieving value for money. It’s time to get Sid investing again.
Innovation industries
Next, I move on to measures to support our most innovative industries. In the last decade we have grown to become…
…the third largest technology sector in the world, double the size of Germany and three times the size of France
…the biggest life sciences industry in Europe
…Europe’s third largest generator of renewable electricity after Germany or Norway
… and the eighth largest manufacturer in the world
When it comes to tech, we know that AI will be at the heart of any future growth. I want to make sure our universities, scientists and start-ups can access the compute power they need.
So, building on the success of the supercomputing centres in Edinburgh and Bristol, I will invest a further £500m over the next two years to fund further innovation centres to help make us an AI powerhouse. Our creative industries already support Europe’s largest film and TV sector. This year’s all-Californian blockbuster Barbie was filmed in the constituency of the Hon Member for Watford, where the sun always shines. I know that even more could be invested in visual effects if we increased the generosity of the film and high-end TV tax credits, so I will today launch a call for evidence on how to make that happen. British-discovered vaccines and treatments saved more lives across the world during the pandemic than those from any other country and I’m incredibly proud of our Life Sciences industry. To further support research and development, I am creating a new simplified R&D tax relief, combining the existing R&D Expenditure Credit and SME schemes.
I will also reduce the rate at which loss-making companies are taxed within the merged scheme from 25% to 19% and lower the threshold for the additional support for R&D intensive loss-making SMEs that I announced in Spring, to 30%, benefiting a further 5,000 SMEs. And because 2028 marks the centenary of the invention of penicillin by Alexander Fleming I am giving £5m to Imperial College and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust to set up a Fleming Centre to inspire the next generation of world-changing innovations.
For our advanced manufacturing and green energy sectors, international investors say the biggest thing we can do is to announce a longer-term strategy for their industries.
So, with the Secretaries of State for Business and Trade and Energy Security and Net Zero, I am today publishing those plans. I confirm that we will make available £4.5 billion of support over the 5 years to 2030 to attract investment into strategic manufacturing sectors.
That includes support of £2 billion for zero emission investments in the automotive sector, something that has been warmly welcomed by Nissan and Toyota; £975m for aerospace, building on decades of success from firms like Airbus and Rolls Royce; and £520m for life sciences to build on the strength of world-class British pharma companies like AstraZeneca and GSK. We will also provide £960m for the new Green Industries Growth Accelerator focused on offshore wind, electricity networks, nuclear, CCUS and hydrogen. These targeted investments will ensure the UK remains competitive in sectors where we are already leaders and innovative in areas where we are not. Taken together across our fastest-growing innovation sectors, this support alone will attract an estimated £2 billion of additional investment every year over the next decade.
Levelling up
One of the reasons we support our manufacturing and clean energy sectors is they help to level up growth across the United Kingdom, so I now turn to further levelling up measures. In the Spring, I announced that we would deliver 12 new Investment Zones – 12 mini-Canary Wharfs – where government, industry and research institutes collaborate across the UK. Since then, the Exchequer Secretary – the Hon Member for Grantham and Stamford – has done outstanding work across government to bring this vision to fruition. Following tenacious representations by the Hon Member for Ynys Mon and the unstoppable Mayor of Tees Valley, I have today decided to extend the financial incentives for Investment Zones and tax reliefs for Freeports from 5 years to 10 years. I will also set up a new £150m Investment Opportunity Fund to catalyse investment into the programme.
On Monday, I confirmed a new Investment Zone in West Yorkshire. Today having listened to representations from the West Midlands salesman-in-Chief, Andy Street, as well as the Hon Member for Mansfield and the Hon Member for Bury North I am also announcing three further Investment Zones focused on advanced manufacturing in the West Midlands, East Midlands and Greater Manchester. Together, local partners expect these will help catalyse over £3.4 billion of private investment and 65,000 new jobs.
And having listened to the Hon Member for Wrexham and the Hon Member for Clwyd South, I can announce a second Investment Zone in Wales in the fantastic region of Wrexham and Flintshire, which I will visit tomorrow. We are publishing new devolution deals with four areas including Hull and East Yorkshire and offering devolved powers to even more county areas.
On Monday we saw the announcement of £1 billion of funding through Round 3 of the Levelling Up Fund, supporting projects following the campaigning efforts of the Members for Keighley, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Scunthorpe …and of course, Mr Speaker, Chorley.
I can also confirm we will proceed with over £50m of funding for high-quality regeneration projects in communities such as Bolsover, Monmouthshire, Warrington, and Eden Valley all of which have particularly effective local MPs as their champions.
And I’m announcing £80m for new Levelling Up Partnerships in Scotland, £500,000 to support the Hay Festival in Wales and £3m of additional funding to support the successful Tackling Paramilitarism programme in Northern Ireland.
Small businesses
Next small business. I ran my own one for 14 years and have always known that every big business was a small business once. The Federation of Small Businesses say that the biggest thing I could do to help their members is end the scourge of late payments. The Procurement Act we have passed means that the 30-day payment terms which are already set for public sector contracts will automatically apply throughout the sub-contract supply chain.
But from April 2024 I will also introduce a condition that any company bidding for large government contracts should demonstrate they pay their own invoices within an average of 55 days, which will reduce progressively to 30 days. Any small business will also tell you the biggest frustration is the tax you pay before making a penny of profit – not least business rates. This government has already taken a third of properties out of rates completely through Small Business Rates Relief. We have frozen the tax rate for the last three years at a cost of £14.5 billion. We have removed downwards caps from Transitional Relief.
And for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses we have introduced a one year 75% discount on business rates up to £110,000. These measures have saved the average independent shop over £20,000. It is not possible to continue with temporary support measures forever. But whilst the standard multiplier, which applies to high-value properties, will rise in line with inflation, I have today decided that we will freeze the small business multiplier for a further year. And following extensive discussions with the FSB and many colleagues in the House, I have also decided to extend the 75% business rates discount for Retail Hospitality and Leisure businesses for another year. This will save the average independent pub over £12,800 next year and at a cost of £4.3 billion, it is a large tax cut which recognises the role of pubs and high street shops in our communities. I thank the Members for Stockton South, Barrow and Furness and East Devon for their tenacious campaigning on this issue.
Finally, I turn to the smallest of all businesses – those run by the self-employed. These are the people who literally kept our country running during the pandemic. The plumbers who fixed our boilers in lockdowns. The delivery drivers who brought us our shopping. The farmers who kept food on our plates. As part of our plans to grow the economy I want to reform and simplify the taxes paid by the self-employed. So today I am announcing a major reform of one of those taxes. It is one most people haven’t heard of, but it is a big deal for those who have to pay it. Class 2 National Insurance is a flat rate compulsory charge, currently £3.45 a week, paid by self-employed people earning more than £12,570 which gives state pension entitlement. Today, after careful consideration and in recognition of the contribution made by self-employed people to our country, I can announce we are abolishing Class 2 National Insurance altogether, saving the average self-employed person £192 a year.
Access to entitlements and credits will be maintained in full and those who choose to pay voluntarily will still be able to do so. But this change simplifies and cuts tax for nearly 2 million self-employed people whilst protecting the interests of those on the lowest pay. Because we value their work, I’m also taking one further step for the self-employed. They also pay Class 4 National Insurance at 9% on all earnings between £12,570 and £50,270. Today, I have decided to cut that tax by 1 percentage point to 8% from April. Taken together with the abolition of the compulsory Class 2 Charge, these reforms will save around 2 million self-employed people an average of £350 a year from April.
Mr Speaker, we are backing small business by freezing their business rates, extending retail, hospitality and leisure relief, abolishing compulsory Class 2 National Insurance payments and reducing Class 4 National Insurance by one percentage point in today’s Autumn Statement for growth. Small businesses work so hard for us, so tis government is working hard for them.
Full expensing
I turn now to my final measure to back British business, Mr Speaker. Since 2010, we have seen the second highest growth in investment of any G7 country. However, if we are to raise productivity, we need to increase business investment further. In 2021, my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister introduced the super-deduction for large businesses to further stimulate business investment, and this Spring, I introduced “full expensing” for three years.
This means that for every million pounds a company invests, they get £250,000 off their tax bill in the very same year.
The CBI, Make UK, Energy UK and 200 other business leaders from companies including BT Open Reach, Siemens and Bosch have said making this measure permanent would the “single most transformational” thing I could do for business investment and growth. The Centre for Policy Studies say it would ‘maximise business investment, boost productivity and deliver higher levels of GDP.’ But because it costs £11 billion a year, I made clear that I would only do so when it was affordable. Well, with inflation halved… borrowing down… and debt falling, today I deliver on that promise. I will today make full expensing permanent. That is the largest business tax cut in modern British history. It means we have not just the lowest headline corporation tax rate in the G7 but its most generous capital allowances.
The OBR say it will increase annual investment by around £3 billion a year and a total of £14 billion over the forecast period. The way to back British business is to increase the incentives to invest. We do that today by introducing one of the most generous tax reliefs anywhere in the world, a huge boost to British competitiveness in an Autumn Statement for Growth. Skills, planning and infrastructure reform, pension fund reform, support for innovation industries, levelling up, backing small business and full expensing… Taken together, the overall impact of today’s growth measures will be to increase business investment in the UK economy by around £20 billion a year within a decade, nearly 1% of GDP at today’s level. That is the biggest ever boost for business investment in modern times, a decisive step towards closing the productivity gap with other major economies and the most effective way we can raise wages and living standards for every family in the country.
Work
As well as backing business, you need to back the people without whose effort no businesses can succeed. The entrepreneur taking risks. The builder working weekends. The nurse working nights. And the jobseeker leaving benefits behind. I therefore conclude with three further supply-side reforms designed to improve the incentives to work in a modern, dynamic economy.
Welfare
I begin with welfare, and I start by thanking the outstanding Work and Pensions Secretary for his help in developing these reforms. He builds on the work of my Rt Hon Friend for Chingford and Woodford Green who introduced Universal Credit. Those reforms helped to reduce unemployment, which has fallen by over one million. But post-pandemic we still have over seven million adults of working age, excluding students, who are not working despite nearly one million vacancies in the economy. Many can and want to work – but our system makes that too hard.
In the Spring Budget I introduced 30 hours of free childcare for working parents of 1- & 2-year-olds. That plan, still opposed by the party opposite, starts rolling out in April. It will help tens of thousands of parents return to work without having to worry about damaging their career prospects.
Today we focus on helping those with sickness or disability and the long term unemployed. Every year we sign off over 100,000 people onto benefits with no requirement to look for work because of sickness or disability. That waste of potential is wrong economically and wrong morally. So, with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, last week I announced our Back to Work Plan. We will reform the Fit Note process so that treatment rather than time off work becomes the default. We will reform the Work Capability Assessment to reflect greater flexibility and availability of home working after the pandemic. And we will spend £1.3 billion over the next five years to help nearly 700,000 people with health conditions find jobs. Over 180,000 more people will be helped through the Universal Support Programme and nearly 500,000 more people will be offered treatment for mental health conditions and employment support.
Over the forecast period, the OBR judge these measures will more than halve the net flow of people who are signed off work with no work search requirements. At the same time, we will provide a further £1.3 billion of funding to offer extra help to the 300,000 people who have been unemployed for over a year without having sickness or a disability.
But we will ask for something in return. If after 18 months of intensive support jobseekers have not found a job, we will roll out a programme requiring them to take part in a mandatory work placement to increase their skills and improve their employability. And if they choose not to engage with the work search process for six months, we will close their case and stop their benefits. Taken together with the labour supply measures I announced in the Spring, the OBR say we will increase the number of people in work by around 200,000 at the end of the forecast period, permanently increasing the size of the economy. We should unlock the potential we have right here at home, which we do with the biggest set of welfare reforms in a decade in today’s Autumn Statement for Growth.
Ending low pay
Mr Speaker, if we are to incentivise work, we must also tackle low pay. People who get up early, put in the hours and work hard for their families deserve to be paid fairly. Since 2010, those on the minimum wage – now the National Living Wage – have seen their hourly wage go up from £5.80/hour to £10.42/hour. That’s a real terms increase of more than 20%. Because we’ve also doubled the threshold at which you pay tax or national insurance, their after-tax income has gone up not by 20% but by 25% – more than any other income group.
Today, I confirm we will go further and accept the Low Pay Commission recommendation to increase the National Living Wage by 9.8% to £11.44 an hour.
That is the largest ever cash increase in the National Living Wage, worth up to £1800 for a full-time worker. Since the National Living Wage has been introduced, the proportion of people on low pay, defined as earning less than two thirds of national median hourly income, has halved. But at the new rate of £11.44 an hour it delivers our manifesto commitment to eliminate low pay altogether. That means by next year someone working full time on the National Living Wage will see their real take-home after-tax pay go up not by 25% but by 30% compared to 2010. The best way to tackle poverty is through work. By reforming the welfare system, reducing workless households and tackling low pay we have helped lift 1.7 million people out of absolute poverty since 2010 because a central part of our plan for growth is to make work pay.
Tax
And so I move to the final supply side measure in today’s Autumn Statement for Growth. Because of the difficult decisions we have taken in the last year, today’s OBR forecast shows that…
…borrowing will be lower than forecast in the Spring …
… debt as a proportion of GDP will be lower than forecast in the Spring…
… inflation will continue to fall…
…and our fiscal headroom has doubled.
I said we would cut taxes when we could – but only responsibly and only in a way that did not fuel inflation. The OBR today confirm I can deliver a package which does just that. For businesses, I have today delivered the biggest business tax cut in modern British history with the most competitive investment allowances of any large economy.
For the self-employed, I have simplified and reformed their taxes by abolishing the compulsory Class 2 charge and cutting Class 4 National Insurance. But high employment taxes on 27 million people working in the public and private sectors also disincentivise the hard work we should be encouraging. On top of income tax at 20%, they pay 12% National Insurance on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 – that’s a 32% marginal tax rate. If we want people to get up early in the morning, if we want people to work nights, if we want an economy where people go the extra mile and work hard then we need to recognise that their hard work benefits all of us. So today, Mr Speaker, I am going to cut the main 12% rate of employee National Insurance.
If I cut it by 1 percentage point to 11%, that would be an extra £225 in the pockets of the average worker every year. But instead, I’m going to go further and cut the main rate of Employee National insurance by 2 percentage points from 12% to 10%. This change will help 27 million people. It means someone on the average salary of £35,000 will save over £450. For the average nurse, it is a saving of over £520 and for the typical police officer it is a saving of over £630 every single year. Mr Speaker, I would normally bring in a measure like this for the start of the new tax year in April, but instead tomorrow I’m introducing urgent legislation to bring it in from January 6th, so that people can see the benefit in their payslips at the start of the new year.
The OBR say reducing a tax on work means more people in work – and today’s measures ON JUDT National Insurance will lead to the equivalent of 94,000 more full-time employees in our economy. Because lower tax means higher growth.
We cut taxes to help bigger businesses invest. We cut taxes to help smaller businesses grow. We cut taxes for the self-employed who keep our country running.
And from January, we cut taxes for 27 million working people whose hard work drives our economy forward.
Conclusion
Mr Speaker, the best universities, the cleverest scientists and the smartest entrepreneurs have given us Europe’s most innovative economy. We can be the most prosperous too.
In the face of global challenges, we have halved inflation, reduced our debt and grown our economy. As a country we are sticking to a plan that is working. This Autumn Statement for Growth will attract £20 billion additional business investment a year in the next decade…
… bring tens of thousands more people into work
… and support our fastest growing industries.
In a package which leaves borrowing lower…
… debt lower…
… and keeps inflation falling…
We are delivering…
… the biggest business tax cut in modern British history…
… the largest ever cut to employee and self-employed National Insurance…
… and the biggest package of tax cuts to be implemented since the 1980s.
An Autumn Statement for a country that has turned a corner.
An Autumn Statement for Growth, which I commend to the House.
Supporting documents
Ways and Mean Resolutions
Resolutions to be moved by the Chancellor
In January 2023 the Prime Minister set out three economic priorities: to halve inflation, grow the economy and reduce debt. Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation has now more than halved from a peak of over 11% last autumn to 4.6% in October 2023. The economy has recovered from the pandemic more quickly than first thought, grown more than expected this year, and is forecast to grow in every year of the forecast period. Underlying debt is forecast to fall as a proportion of GDP from 2027-28 and the government has greater headroom against its fiscal rules than at Spring Budget 2023.
The government must continue to bear down on inflation, and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts that government policies in the Autumn Statement will reduce inflation next year. With inflation falling and the economy and public finances stabilised after a series of unprecedented shocks, the government can now take the long-term decisions necessary to strengthen the economy and build a brighter future.
The government is focusing on five areas: reducing debt; cutting tax and rewarding hard work; backing British business; building domestic and sustainable energy; and delivering world-class education. The Autumn Statement takes a responsible approach to public spending to keep debt falling, cuts taxes for working people and businesses, reforms welfare to help people into work and removes barriers to business investment to boost growth.
The OBR estimates that government decisions at the Autumn Statement will boost business investment by £14 billion and bring a further 78,000 people into employment by the end of the forecast period. This means that the combined impacts of the Spring and Autumn policy measures will increase the number of people in work by around 200,000 by the end of the forecast.
Together, Autumn Statement policies are forecast to increase the economy’s potential output in the medium term by 0.3%. This is in addition to a 0.2% increase to potential GDP resulting from announcements at Spring Budget 2023. These are the two largest increases to labour supply and potential GDP resulting from fiscal policy the OBR has ever scored in a medium-term forecast.
Autumn Statement 2023 Policy Decisions
Table 5.1 shows the cost or yield of all government decisions accounted for at Autumn Statement 2023 which have a direct effect on Public Sector Net Borrowing (PSNB) in the years up to 2028-29. This includes tax measures, changes to aggregate Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) and measures affecting annually managed expenditure (AME).
Autumn Statement 2023: Data Sources
This document sets out the data sources used in charts, tables and text in the Autumn Statement 2023 document. This should be read in parallel to the references contained in the Autumn Statement 2023 document.
Autumn Statement 2023: National Insurance Factsheet
As part of our long-term plan to grow the economy, we are cutting the main rates of National Insurance for employees and the self-employed, and simplifying the tax system by abolishing Class 2 NICs.
Autumn Statement 2023: Policy Costings
This document sets out the assumptions and methodologies used in the government’s costing of policy decisions announced since Spring Budget 2023. For each decision it contains a description of the measure, the base, and the methodology for the costing (including relevant adjustments for behavioural responses). It highlights main areas of additional uncertainty.
Autumn Statement Pensions Reform 2023
The government has announced a package to improve pension savers’ returns and boost growth in the UK, progressing reforms set out at Mansion House.
Deeper Devolution Level 4 Policy Document
This update sets out next steps on devolution in England.
Deeper Devolution Scrutiny protocol
This Scrutiny Protocol provides guidance regarding overview and scrutiny committees in English institutions with devolved powers.
Financial Reporting Council (FRC) remit: letter from Business Secretary, November 2023
Letter from the Secretary of State for Business and Trade to the CEO of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) providing an update on the FRC’s remit.
Future of Payments Review 2023
The Future of Payments Review, chaired by Joe Garner, reports on the steps needed to successfully deliver world leading retail payments in the UK.
Getting Great Britain building again: Speeding up infrastructure delivery
The prospectus sets out why we need to go further than the existing programme of reform for infrastructure, and how our new approach will bear down on the drivers of delay, high costs and inefficiency.
Government response to the 2023 Fiscal Risks and Sustainability Report
The government has published its response to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s 2023 Fiscal Risks and Sustainability Report.
Impact on households: distributional analysis to accompany Autumn Statement 2023
Independent review of university spin-out companies
An independent report by Professor Irene Tracey and Doctor Andrew Williamson to help improve the creation and growth of university spin-out companies.
Letter from the Chancellor and Secretary of State for Business and Trade to regulators
The government outlines potential approaches to Growth Duty reporting in this letter from the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade to regulators in scope of the Growth Duty, and to Ofgem, Ofwat and Ofcom.
Memorandum of Understanding for the “Trailblazer” Single Settlements for Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities
This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the “Trailblazer” single settlements has been agreed between Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities and the UK government.
Monetary policy remit: Autumn Statement 2023
The Chancellor’s letter to the Bank of England setting the remit for the Monetary Policy Committee.
National Policy Statement for electricity networks infrastructure (EN-5)
Planning guidance for developers of nationally significant electricity network infrastructure projects.
National Policy Statement for natural gas electricity generating infrastructure (EN-2)
Planning guidance for developers of nationally significant natural gas electricity generating infrastructure projects.
National Policy Statement for natural gas supply infrastructure and gas and oil pipelines (EN-4)
Planning guidance for developers of nationally significant natural gas supply infrastructure and gas and oil pipeline projects.
National Policy Statement for renewable energy infrastructure (EN-3)
Planning guidance for developers of nationally significant renewable energy infrastructure projects.
National Policy Statements for energy: appraisal of sustainability
The likely significant sustainability effects of developing new energy infrastructure of the types covered by the National Policy Statements for energy.
National Policy Statements for energy: habitats regulations assessment
A habitats regulations assessment is required for proposed plans or projects likely to have a significant effect on international sites of scientific interest.
National Quantum Strategy Missions
In March 2023, the government published the National Quantum Strategy, where it committed to publishing long-term quantum missions to galvanise technology development towards ambitious outcomes.
With the biggest impacts for quantum technologies expected in the long-term, time-bound missions can crystallize where we want to get to as a country, focusing the activity and investment needed in the public and private sectors. Since the publication of the strategy, the government has worked with industry, quantum experts, and investors to develop missions that will bring significant benefits to the economy and society.
New devolution deals: Cornwall
Proposed agreement for a devolution deal between the government and Cornwall Council.
New devolution deals: Greater Lincolnshire
Proposed agreement for a devolution deal between the government and the local authorities of Lincolnshire County Council, North East Lincolnshire, and North Lincolnshire Council.
New devolution deals: Hull and East Yorkshire
Proposed agreement for a devolution deal between the government and Kingston Upon Hull City Council and East Yorkshire County Council.
New devolution deals: Lancashire
Proposed agreement for a devolution deal between the government and Lancashire County Council, Blackpool Council and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.
Overarching National Policy Statement for energy (EN-1)
Planning guidance for developers of nationally significant energy infrastructure projects.
Pensions Investment Reform
Letter from the Chancellor and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to the Chief Executives of the Financial Conduct Authority and the Pensions Regulator.
Pro-innovation Regulation of Technologies Review: Advanced Manufacturing
Professor Dame Angela McLean’s review on pro-innovation regulation for advanced manufacturing and the government response.
Pro-innovation Regulation of Technologies Review: Cross-Cutting – government response
Professor Dame Angela McLean’s cross-cutting review on pro-innovation regulation and the government response.
Pro-innovation Regulation of Technologies Review: Cross-Cutting
Professor Dame Angela McLean’s cross-cutting review on pro-innovation regulation and the government response.
Pro-innovation Regulation of Technologies Review: Cross-Cutting
Professor Dame Angela McLean’s cross-cutting review on pro-innovation regulation and the government response.
Publication of the Prompt Payment and Cash Flow Review
This review scrutinises existing prompt payment policy and sets out actions that government will take forward to improve payment times in the UK.
Remit and recommendations for the Financial Policy Committee: Autumn Statement 2023
Letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the Governor of the Bank of England providing recommendations for the Financial Policy Committee (FPC).
Research, development and innovation (RDI) organisational landscape: an independent review – government response
An examination of the mix of UK organisations performing RDI, with recommendations to make the most of the UK’s research organisational landscape, ensuring it is effective, sustainable and responsive to global challenges – and the government response highlighting the action it will take to build a more diverse, resilient and investable landscape.
Shared Outcomes Fund Round Three
This page contains summaries of projects funded as part of the third round of HM Treasury’s Shared Outcomes Fund, which was announced at Spending Review 2021.
Spring Budget 2023 – Full expensing
Statement of funding policy: funding the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive
This document sets out how the UK Government funds the devolved administrations and explains the other sources of funding available to them when they set their spending plans. This is the tenth edition of the Statement, which was first published in March 1999.
Technical note: Electricity Generator Levy – new investment exemption
A technical note to help generators understand the new investment exemption. It does not provide formal guidance, which HM Revenue and Customs will issue.
Terms of Reference: HMT-HMRC Capital Allowances and Leasing working group
To discuss the existing exclusion of expenditure on plant and machinery for leasing from first-year capital allowances, with a view to exploring and identifying a solution that supports the leasing sector to access the benefits of full expensing, whilst managing the risks of abuse and error.
Connections Action Plan
Joint government and Ofgem action plan on accelerating connections to the electricity network.
The Harrington Review of Foreign Direct Investment – government response
Lord Harrington’s Review looks at how the UK can better attract foreign direct investment into key growth sectors to ensure the UK is the most attractive destination in Europe for internationally mobile investment.
Consultation outcomes
Community benefits for electricity transmission network infrastructure: Government Response
This document details feedback received, the government response and the outcomes of the consultation which aimed to ensure communities can directly benefit from hosting electricity transmission network infrastructure.
Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) Reform
The government has published a summary of responses to the consultation on the reform of the Construction Industry Scheme. The government has considered these responses and has set out the next steps in the summary of responses.
Consultation on the Digital Securities Sandbox
The government has confirmed its final approach to implementing the Digital Securities Sandbox, which will facilitate the use of digital assets in financial markets. This document summarises the feedback on the consultation, which was published on 10 July 2023 and closed 22 August 2023, and sets out the government’s response. Legislation implementing the DSS will be laid before Parliament in due course.
Energy Profits Levy and the Energy Security Investment Mechanism: discussion note
The government has published a summary of responses to the discussion note on the detail and application of the Energy Security Investment Mechanism (ESIM).
Expanding the cash basis – consultation outcome
Respondents agreed that the cash basis is a useful simplification for the smallest businesses and for those with simple affairs, and agreed with encouraging more of these businesses to use the cash basis where appropriate. Respondents provided feedback on the value of accruals accounting for many businesses, and on the interactions between the options proposed.
National Infrastructure Commission report on improving nationally significant infrastructure planning
The government’s response to the National Infrastructure Commission report of their study on the infrastructure planning system and the role of National Policy Statements.
Occupational-health: Working Better – consultation outcome
The government published its response to this consultation on 22 November 2023.
Off-Payroll Working (IR35) – calculation of PAYE liability in cases of non-compliance – consultation outcome
The majority of respondents supported the government’s policy intent to allow HMRC to account for taxes already paid when calculating a deemed employer’s PAYE liability under the off-payroll working rules. Legislation will be included in the next Finance Bill, and will come into effect from 6 April 2024.
Oil and Gas Fiscal Review – Outcome and summary of responses
This document sets out the final outcomes of the Oil and Gas Fiscal Regime Review and a summary of responses from the Call for Evidence. The government is committed to supporting the oil and gas sector given its significant contribution to the UK’s public finances, role in supporting our energy security, contribution to the economy and the hundreds of thousands of jobs that rely on the sector across the country. The fiscal review confirms policy decisions and principles for future tax policy making.
Outcome of the Making Tax Digital Small Business Review
The outcome of HMRC’s review into how Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment addresses the needs of small businesses, and next steps.
Planning for new energy infrastructure: revisions to National Policy Statements
Alongside the National Policy Statements for energy, we have published the government response to the March 2023 consultation on the draft statements.
Short Selling Regulation: consultation – sovereign debt and credit default swaps
The document sets out the government’s final policy position for the regulation of the short selling of sovereign debt and credit default swaps. This document summarises responses received to the consultation published on 11 July 2023, on aspects of the Short Selling Regulation related to sovereign debt and credit default swaps. It then sets out the government’s approach to these aspects of the regime under the UK’s new short selling regime.
Work Capability Assessment Gateway reform – consultation outcome
The government published its response to this consultation on 22 November 2023.
New consultations
Amendments to the Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017
We’re seeking views on proposals to amend and improve the Payment Practices and Performance Regulations, and whether they should extend beyond their current expiry date of 6 April 2024.
Autumn Statement 2023 – Permanent full expensing – technical consultation
We will also launch a technical consultation on wider changes to the capital allowances legislation, as the introduction of permanent full expensing provides us with an opportunity to deliver on the government’s longer-term ambition to simplify the tax system.
Call for evidence on the visual effects industry
Public call for evidence on recent trends, challenges and opportunities in the visual effects industry.
Short Selling Regulations 2024
The government is publishing a draft statutory instrument to replace the Short Selling Regulation, a piece of retained EU law, for checks.
Smarter regulation: extending the growth duty to Ofgem, Ofwat and Ofcom
We’re seeking views on extending the growth duty to include the following economic regulators: Ofgem, Ofwat and Ofcom.
Smarter regulation: regulating for growth
We’re seeking views on revised statutory guidance for the growth duty.
Smarter regulation: strengthening the economic regulation of the energy, water and telecoms sectors
We’re seeking views on specific proposals to improve the economic regulation of the water, energy and fixed telecoms sectors regulated by Ofwat, Ofgem and Ofcom.
UK Retail Disclosure Framework – Draft SI and Policy Note
The government is publishing a near-final version of the statutory instrument to replace the EU Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products (PRIIPs) Regulation and create a new UK retail disclosure framework.
Climate Change Agreements: consultation on a new scheme
This consultation seeks views on proposals for a new 6-year Climate Change Agreements scheme to begin in 2025.
HMRC tax information and impact notes
Abolition of the Lifetime Allowance from 6 April 2024
This tax information and impact note is about abolishing the Lifetime Allowance (LTA).
Calculation of PAYE liability in cases of non-compliance with off-payroll working
This tax information and impact note is about accounting for tax and national insurance contributions that have already been paid by a worker and their intermediary when calculating a deemed employer’s PAYE liability in cases of non-compliance with the off-payroll working rules.
Capital allowances — permanent full expensing
This tax information and impact note outlines permanent full expensing for companies investing in plant and machinery.
Changes to Air Passenger Duty rates from 1 April 2024
This tax information and impact note sets out the Air Passenger Duty rates for the tax year 2024 to 2025.
Changes to Plastic Packaging Tax rates from 1 April 2024
This tax information and impact note is about the increase in the rate of Plastic Packaging Tax from 1 April 2024.
Changes to the Aggregates Levy rate from 1 April 2024
This tax information and impact note confirms the new rate of Aggregates Levy for tax year 2024 to 2025.
Changes to tobacco duty rates from 22 November 2023
This tax information and impact note sets out how tobacco duties will increase on 22 November 2023.
Construction Industry Scheme reform from 6 April 2024
This tax information and impact note is about reform of the Construction Industry Scheme to strengthen the tests for gross payment status.
Expanding the Income Tax cash basis for self-employed individuals and partnerships
This tax information and impact note details legislation introduced to expand the income tax cash basis for the self-employed and partnerships, and to set the cash basis as the default method of calculating trading profits.
Extension of the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trust Scheme
This tax information and impact note is about changes to the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Venture Capital Trusts (VCT) scheme.
Fuel Duty for heavy oil and bioblends used for heating
This tax information and impact note explains changes to the rules on using certain rebated heavy oils and bioblends in machines or appliances for heating.
Growth market exemption for Stamp Duty and Stamp Duty Reserve Tax
This tax information and impact note is about increasing access to the growth market exemption from Stamp Duty and Stamp Duty Reserve Tax.
Multinational top-up tax and domestic top-up tax amendments
This tax information and impact note describes the amendments being made to the multinational top-up tax and domestic top-up tax, which were brought in as part of the UK’s implementation of Pillar 2.
Landfill Tax rates for 2024 to 2025
This tax information and impact note details the increase in Landfill Tax in line with Retail Price Index (RPI) for 2024 to 2025.
Reform of film, TV and video games tax reliefs to expenditure credits
This tax information and impact note is about the reform of the film, TV and video games tax reliefs to expenditure credits.
Tax exemption for corporate recipients of compensation payments made under the Post Office compensation schemes: Group Litigation Order, Horizon Shortfall Scheme, Suspension Remuneration Review or Post Office Process Review Scheme
This tax information and impact note provides details of the taxation of corporate recipients and the ultimate recipients of compensation payments under the Post Office compensation schemes specified above.
Taxation of Members of Parliament, Members of the Senedd and Members of the Legislative Assembly of Northern Ireland pension reform remedies
The tax information and impact note is about addressing adverse tax consequences of the remedies made by the pensions schemes for MPs, Members of the Senedd and Members of the Legislative Assembly of Northern Ireland.
Vehicle Excise Duty rates for cars, vans and motorcycles from 1 April 2024
This tax information and impact note outlines Vehicle Excise Duty rates for cars, vans, motorcycles, and motorcycle trade licences from 1 April 2024.
HMRC measures
Amendments to the Real Estate Investment Trust regime
This measure makes amendments to the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) regime to enhance its competitiveness.
Annual Report on the UK Government’s Contingent Liabilities, November 2023
This report from the CLCC brings together, for the first time, a complete view of the UK Government’s exposure to financial guarantees, indemnities, contingent liabilities, and provisions.
Change to data HMRC collects from customers
This measure is about changes to the data HMRC requires from employers, some shareholders in owner-managed businesses, and customers who are self-employed.
Clarifications of the rules for cultural tax reliefs
This measure is about technical clarifications of the relief rules, including what is eligible for relief.
Corporate Governance Reform: letter from Capital Markets Industry Taskforce
Creative industry tax reliefs: administrative changes
This measure is about administrative changes being made to all the creative industry tax reliefs.
Dealing with promoters of tax avoidance
This measure is about imposing tougher consequences on promoters of tax avoidance.
Enterprise management incentives: extension of the time limit to submit a notification of a grant of options
This measure is about a change to the time limit to submit a notification of a grant of enterprise management incentives options.
Evaluation of Venture Capital Schemes
Externally commissioned mixed methods evaluations of Venture Capital Schemes.
Exemption for Vehicle Excise Duty for Ukrainian vehicles
This measure is about the Vehicle Excise Duty exemption for Ukraine visa holders driving in the UK on Ukrainian number plates.
Increasing the capital allowance limits for leasing into tonnage tax
This measure is about increasing the limits on capital allowances that lessors of ships can claim on the cost of providing ships for use by ship operators in the tonnage tax regime.
Increasing the maximum prison term for tax fraud
This measure is about amending the legislation to increase the maximum sentence from 7 to 14 years for all criminal penalties applied in cases of fraud in relation to revenue and duties.
Interpretation of VAT and excise legislation
This measure clarifies how VAT and excise law should be interpreted in the light of changes made by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (REUL Act).
Making Tax Digital – Simplification Measures
The outcome of HMRC’s review into how Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment addresses the needs of small businesses, and next steps.
Outcome of the Making Tax Digital Small Business Review
The outcome of HMRC’s review into how Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment addresses the needs of small businesses, and next steps.
Penalty Reform for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment volunteers
Customers volunteering to join Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA) from April 2024 will be subject to the government’s new penalty regime.
Pensions tax relief — amendments to the relief at source legislation
This measure is about the necessary changes to the legislative framework to modernise the way registered pensions schemes, using relief at source arrangements, claim tax relief on members’ pension contributions from 6 April 2025.
Publication of the CLCC report on government’s stock of contingent liabilities
Research & Development (R&D) tax relief reforms
These measures combine the current Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) and R&D SME scheme into a merged scheme, implement the enhanced support for R&D intensive SMEs and restrict the use of nominations and assignments for R&D tax credit payments.
Technical note: Energy Profits Levy Energy Security Investment Mechanism
This document sets out the technical detail and practical application of the Energy Security Investment Mechanism (ESIM).
Tonnage tax elections to include third party ship managers
This measure is about extending the scope of Tonnage Tax to include elections into the regime by third party ship managers.
Transmission Acceleration Action Plan
The government’s response to the Electricity Network Commissioner’s report on accelerating electricity transmission network build.
Other
Chancellor’s social media video before the Statement
Chancellor’s social media video on NI changes
Record wage boost for nearly 3 million workers next year
Biggest ever increase to the National Living Wage, worth over £1,800 a year for a full-time worker, fulfils manifesto pledge to end low pay.
£320 million plan to usher innovation and deliver Mansion House Reforms
The Chancellor has announced a £320 million plan to drive innovation and unlock the first tranche of investment from his Mansion House Reforms.
Chancellor to cut admin workloads to free up frontline staff
The Chancellor will set out the case for reform across public services to unlock productivity