In January 2023, the Prime Minister set out five priorities for government. Three of them were economic: to halve inflation, grow the economy, and reduce debt. Since then, inflation has halved; the economy has recovered more quickly from the pandemic than first thought, and debt is on track to fall. These successes highlight the real impact our long-term economic planning has had for the nation. With these announcements building on such progress, increasing our focus on lowering the cost of living and increasing growth. In simple terms this means cheaper goods, lower bills, and more job opportunities for the hard-working British people.

I was in the chamber for the Chancellor’s presentation of his upbeat, positive autumn statement setting us on a firm trajectory for the future. There’s much to welcome that will benefit the people & businesses of Taunton Deane.

Here are the key announcements:

The Biggest Ever Tax Cut for Working People and British Business.

• Cut taxes for 27 million working people from January by cutting the main rate of National Insurance Contributions from 12 per cent to 10 per cent. For the average worker earning £35,000 a year, that means a £450 tax cut.
• Cut and simplify tax for 2 million of the self-employed, abolishing an entire class of NICs and cutting the rate of the NICs top rate from 9 per cent to 8 per cent – a with an average total saving of around £350 for someone earning £28,000 a year.
• Cut business taxes by £11 billion – the biggest business tax cut in modern British history by permanently enabling businesses to invest for less and offset investments against their tax bills.
• Freeze alcohol duty, alleviating pressure on the hospitality sector. 
• Boost the National Living Wage to record levels: £11.44 an hour. That is a 9.8 per cent increase, benefiting 2.7 million workers. A full-time worker on the NLW will see their pay increase by over £1,800.
• Help the most vulnerable with an average income boost of £800. 1.6 million of the families most struggling with the cost of living will have their Local Housing Allowance increased.
• Boost pensions, in line with our Triple Lock, by 8.5 per cent – ensuring dignity in older age for those who have worked their entire lives. The basic State Pension will be £3,750 higher than in 2010.
• Increase all working age benefits in full by 6.7 per cent, boosting benefit payments for around 5.5 million households who receive Universal Credit – by an average of £470 a year.
• Provide support with the cost of living with further Cost of Living Payments this year, helping more than 8 million UK households on eligible means-tested-benefits, 8 million pensioner households and 6 million people across the UK on eligible disability benefits.
• Get people into work by reforming welfare and toughening up work requirements.
• Reduce inflation further. The OBR state that the package as a whole means inflation is forecast to be lower next year than they said at Spring Budget.

For more information please click here and for a full copy of the Autumn Statement 2023 please click here.