Five things you need to know from the Autumn Statement
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt explains what the Autumn Statement 2023 means for you.
1. Cutting taxes
We’re reducing Employee National Insurance from 12% to 10% This means the average worker earning £35,400 will receive a £450 tax cut next year, starting from January 2024.
And we’re cutting National Insurance for people who are self-employed. Cutting class 4 NICs from 9% to 8% and abolishing Class 2 NICs, saving them £350 next year.
2. Backing business
We’re making the biggest permanent business tax cut – making Full Expensing for businesses permanent.
Helping businesses invest for less by giving them 25p of their tax bill for every pound they put into new equipment like computers, machinery and lorries.
We’ve created a new £4.3 billion business rates support package – helping highstreets over the next 5 years and protecting small businesses that are the backbones of communities.
This includes a rollover of 75% Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief for 230,000 properties and a freeze to the small business multiplier, which will protect around 90% of ratepayers for a fourth consecutive year.
3. Getting people back into work
The Back to Work Plan is about giving millions of people the support they need to start, stay and success in work.
We’ll make changes to the work capability assessment, trial a new fit note process and expand the health and employment support programs for employees.
But those who choose not to engage with the work search process will see those benefits stopped.
And we’ll end low pay – increasing the National Living Wage by nearly 10% making it now £11.44 per hour for people 21 and over.
4. Growing the economy
We’ve announced a £4.5 billion investment in British manufacturing.
Including £960 million for the clean energy sector so that the National Grid can unlock thousands of new homes and speed up both major grid upgrades.
And we’re extending out Investment Zones and Freeports Programmes, bringing in high quality jobs to Greater Manchester, the East Midlands, West Midlands and Wrexham and Flintshire.
5. Support to help with the cost of living
We’re increasing the new state pension by 8.5%. And we’re increasing Universal Credit and other benefits by 6.7%.
And we’re increasing the local house allowance rate helping 1.4 million households and freezing alcohol duty until August.