65 things you need to know about the Autumn 17 Budget: The Content Coms Digest

Here at Content Coms – we digest the news so you don’t have to. Our quick-scribbling, news-absorbing PR Manager Lucy Thomas has digested today’s Autumn Budget to save you the job.

She’s found 65 things we think you should know about the important messages and announcements in Mr Hammond’s statement. Happy reading.

Key political messaging:

1. This Budget is about new opportunities
2. Look forward, embrace change
3. Seize opportunities for Britain
4. Brexit is in a critical phase
5. There is a technical revolution in work & living; and living standards
6. Britain at forefront of research in our universities, factories and business parks; investment is promised
7. We must invest in: infrastructure, homes and families
8. Relentless focus on getting people into work
9. OBR forecasts, productivity will ‘continue to disappoint’
10. Debt is still too high: £44.9bn borrowing this year; debt will be peak at 86.5% of GDP this year and will start to come down as a percentage from next year
11. Air quality must improve
12. Invest in skills, R&D, productivity will help drive economic security
13. House prices are out of reach for young people; rents are too high a proportion of monthly spending; finding it hard to save for a deposit

Investment in infrastructure: Rail; Road; Science & innovation

14. £31bn for infrastructure via National Productivity Investment fund
15. £2.5bn Investment in R&D plus 12% tax credit for firms which invest in R&D
16. £500m for broadband, 5G and AI
17. New funds added to British Business Bank to support seed-funding for UK start-ups, supported by public money – £2.5bn
18. Government stands ready to replace European Investment Funding if necessary
19. Driverless vehicles: £400m on charging infrastructure fund

  • £500m for EVs
  • £100m more for grants for people who want to buy EVs
  • If staff charge their cars at work, this will not be taxed as a benefit in kind

20. Additional diesel charges on new cars only

Apprenticeships/skills/training

21. Keeping an eye on the £3m raised through apprenticeship levy and how it is spent
22. £600 maths premium for every student studying at A level
23. Computer science – triple teachers
24. Work with industry on new National Centre for Computing
25. Ongoing training through working lives; partnering with CBI & TUC on a National Retraining Scheme to boost digital and construction skills
26. £20m Construction T-levels for FE colleges
27. Digital learning & innovation

Regions

28. £1.7bn Transforming Cities Fund for regions including #Northern Powerhouse & #Midlands Engine; ½ of which will go to areas with elected Metropolitan Mayors ie. Manchester
29. West Midlands 2nd devolution
30. North of Tyne – devolution & £337m for Metro refurbishment
31. Redcar Steelworks site investment £123m
32. Trans Pennine WIFI access (on transport? Need to research)
33. HSE 2 support for #NP and #ME growth
34. Business rate pilot scheme in London next year (need to research, possible reduction)
35. £1bn discounted lending in regions to support infrastructure spending

Income & Tax

36. National Living Wage to rise to £7.83 an hour from April 2018
37. Personal allowance to rise to £11,850
38. Higher rate threshold risen to £43k(ish)
39. Frozen duty on most booze
40. Fuel duty rise cancelled again
41. VAT rate threshold frozen for SMEs at £85,000
42. Business rates relief
43. More flexible tax regime for North Sea oil & gas to encourage new players into the field and unlock the remaining 20bn barrels of oil

Housing

44. Local authorities urged to contact the Treasury if they have trouble funding for fire/building safety
45. Will give local authorities powers to levy 100% of council tax on empty properties
46. Will work for longer tenancies for those in private rented sector (PRS)
47. Need to increase land supply via planning reform
48. Need to drive growth in the SME house-building sector
49. Need to boost training
50. £44bn for next few years to get new housing up to 300,000 per year until 2020
51. Doubling housing infrastructure fund
52. £1.1bn for new urban sites
53. £8bn new financial guarantees for private house building and building for the PRS
54. £34m for construction skills
55. Extra £10bn in help to buy equity loan fund
56. Abolishing stamp duty for first time buyers on properties up to £300,000; and available on the first £300,000 on properties in high value areas up to £500,000
57. Set up new Homes England agency
58. Long-term measures – 5 new Town Development Corporations to develop 5 new Garden Towns through public private partnership
59. 1m homes in Cambridge, Milton Keynes, Oxford corridor, including support for transport infrastructure
60. In London there are 270,000 residential planning permissions unbuilt – this will be reviewed and there will be an interim report in time for the Spring Statement
61. Planning reform to focus on urban areas; high quality, high density housing in city centres and near major transport hubs
62. Ensuring more affordable homes & those for first home buyers

NHS

63. £10bn capital expenditure for the NHS on frontline staff
64. Sustainability for NHS
65. Additional resource funding of £2.8bn in England on winter planning (up to 2020)


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