A 2p cut in National Insurance will change the rate from 10% to 8% for 27 million workers, from April 2024. Chancellor Hunt says this is worth £450 a year to an employee on an average salary of £35,000.
Millions of people will pay hundreds of pounds more in tax because of changes to the tax thresholds. These are the income levels at which people start paying income tax, or have to pay higher rates.
This is probably the last budget before a general election. Here are a few of the changes.
The last few years have been tough for the UK economy, which has faced unprecedented shocks from the legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic, an energy price spike driven by Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine, and globally high inflation. At the beginning of 2023 the Prime Minister set out five priorities, three of which were economic: to halve inflation, grow the economy and get debt falling.
The spring budget of 2024 was widely seen as a chance for UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt to inject some economic optimism into British politics ahead of a general election. Would he or wouldn't he cut income tax? (He wouldn't.) Would he pull rabbits out of hats in a bid to convince the electorate that the Conservatives should stay in power? Here's what our panel of experts made of his plans: National insurance cut only partially offsets rising tax burden Jonquil Lowe, Senior Lecturer in Economics and Personal Finance, The Open University The big attention-grabber in the budget was a two percentage point cut in national insurance contributions for employees and the self-employed from April.
Following FMQs, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: "It is written in law that all patients should be treated within twelve weeks. “The SNP have broken this law over 680,000 times.
Barnett consequentials have been announced of £295m in 2024-25, largely due to higher spending on the NHS in England (£237m) and a larger settlement for English local government (£48m), with the latter already committed to partially pay for the council tax freeze. There is nothing additional on capital apart from small amounts from 2025-26 (less than £80m a year).
Commitment to enhance gender equality and women's rights internationally. Women and girls in Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia will be given the opportunity to design and deliver a new fund to advance gender equality and the rights of women and girls in their own countries.
The Spring Budget has failed to deliver the funding Scotland needs for public services, infrastructure and cost of living measures, Deputy First Minister and Finance Secretary Shona Robison has said. The Budget provided less in Barnett consequentials from health than in-year health consequentials of 2023-24, and failed to deliver more capital funding for infrastructure.
The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) has appointed Vicki Nairn as Principal and Vice-Chancellor. Vicki Nairn, who has been serving as UHI's Interim Principal and Vice-Chancellor since October 2022, initially joined the institution as Vice-Principal Operations in November 2021.
Dawn Meston from The Highland Council's Housing team won a prestigious award at the Scottish Empty Homes Awards held at The Studio, Glasgow on Thursday 29 February 2024 in recognition of her contribution to bringing empty homes back into use across Highland. Between 1 April and 31 December 2023, a total of 25 empty properties were brought back into use following Dawn's intervention as Highland's Empty Homes Officer.
March 2024 is making investors nervous. A major scheme to prop up the US banking system is ending, while a second may be winding down.
A budget in the year of an election is a big moment for any government. In 2024, it could be the chancellor of the exchequer's last chance to try and generate a sense of economic optimism and improve consumer confidence after years of households feeling squeezed by austerity measures and rising prices.
UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt's last budget before the general election will be highly political. His aim on March 6 will be to convince voters that the Conservatives are a tax-cutting party.
No matter what is in the UK budget presented by chancellor Jeremy hunt today Fiscal Drag is already in play taking ever more tax from most people. In the Spring Statement, Rishi Sunak said raising the NICs thresholds would deliver an average saving of £330 in the year from July 2022.
The Treasury watchdog is seen by some Tories as a block to tax cuts - and could be ignored by Jeremy Hunt. It has been described as a millstone around the chancellor's neck and the reason Conservative MPs could be disappointed by Jeremy Hunt's budget on Wednesday if he spurns their demands for large pre-election tax cuts.
The proportion of young people who vape has grown significantly over the last year. According to charity Action on Smoking and Health, the proportion of young people aged 11 to 17 in Great Britain who have experimented with vaping has risen from 15.8% in 2022 to 20.5% in 2023.
British people are known around the world for their love of tea. This is borne out by the statistics: a staggering 50 billion cups of tea are consumed on average in the UK every year.
Ever since the financial crisis of 2007-08, British banks have often struggled to make as much money as they used to. Profits have generally been at a much lower level than in the pre-crisis period.
The Chair of The Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee has confirmed details of a trial, to start next week, of a thermal process for carrying out pothole repairs. An external contractor, Thermal Road Repairs, has been appointed to undertake the work using a thermal repair process.
