Further measures announced to help hard-working people as
Chancellor delivers Autumn Statement to Parliament.
Chancellor George Osborne has delivered his Autumn Statement
to Parliament, setting out how the government will continue to secure
the public finances, support families with their costs, help businesses
to grow and equip young people with the skills they need to succeed.
The Autumn Statement reinforces the government’s commitment to
the long-term economic plan set out in 2010.
The economy is now growing faster than predicted. As a result,
borrowing will be lower. By setting out a Autumn Statement that focuses
on the continuing need to reduce spending, the government is
reinforcing its commitment to tackling the deficit and help get the
public finances back in to balance.
With the deficit and debt still at unsustainable levels,
deviating from that plan now would be the biggest risk to recovery.
The Autumn Statement sets out the next steps in this long-term
economic plan, including:
delivering sound public finances
helping hard-working people to keep more of the money they
earn
supporting businesses to grow and create jobs
equipping all young people to compete in the global economy
increasing the incentives to work and providing a benefit
system that is fair to those who need it and those who pay for it
clamping down further on tax evasion, avoidance and
aggressive tax planning, ensuring that those with the most in society
make a fair contribution to reducing the deficit
taking action to reduce levels of tax debt and to reduce
fraud, error and debt in the benefit and tax credit systems
Delivering sound
public finances
In recognition of the need to continue to reduce the deficit
and debt, the Autumn Statement sets out:
a reduction in Whitehall departmental budgets for 2014-15
and 2015-16 of 1.1%, excluding protected departments, local government,
Security and Intelligence Agencies and HMRC
how a cap on welfare announced at Budget
2013 will work to control welfare spending
how future reviews of the State Pension age will work in
practice
a review of the current fiscal policy framework to ensure
that debt continues to fall as a percentage of GDP, including using
surpluses in good years for this purpose
To support families with the cost of living, the Chancellor
announced in his Autumn Statement that the government is:
freezing fuel duty for the remainder of this Parliament,
saving the average motorist £11 every time they fill up their tank by
2015-16
introducing the married couples transferable tax allowance,
benefitting eligible couples by up to £200 in 2015-16
introducing reforms to save the average energy bill payer
£50, whilst maintaining support for the poorest families
extending free school meals to all children in reception
and years 1 and 2
*cap the average increase in regulated rail fares for 2014 in line with
the Retail Prices Index, complementing the decision by the Mayor of
London to cap average fare increases in London for 2014
In order to ensure all young people can compete in the global
economy, the Chancellor set out that that the government will:
remove the cap on university places so more people can go
into higher education – it is estimated this will allow 60,000 more
young people to go to university every year
provide an extra £40 million to increase the number of
people starting higher apprenticeships by 20,000
The government’s plan to build a stronger economy is
underpinned by its commitment to deliver a fairer society. The Autumn
Statement will help to provide a benefit system that is fair to those
who need it and those who pay for it, and clamps down further on tax
evasion, avoidance and aggressive tax planning.
