Budget Reports

Forest Way School's headteacher and staff help other schools to improve their financial health through budget planning and staff changes.

Forest Way in Coalville, Leicestershire, is a single academy trust teaching school and national support school.

Headteacher Lynn Slinger and her staff (including specialist leaders of education) help other schools to improve their financial health, through budget-planning and staffing changes.

In some cases, their support has had dramatic results. It has helped to turn around schools with deficits of around £500,000 to a budget surplus within 3 years.

If a school’s in financial difficulties, Lynn and her team’s immediate focus is to construct a 3-year budget plan. This allows the governing body to see that they may face short-term costs before they see a long-term improvement in the school’s financial health.

Budget planning can take between 3 and 4 months to complete so that Lynn’s team can examine each element of the school’s expenditure. They will then develop savings scenarios for the school’s leadership team to consider. A key element of this is staffing costs. This involves a comprehensive review to identify which roles the school needs to deliver the curriculum and the costs of each role for the next 3 years. This often means questioning some fundamental assumptions about the existing staff structure. To address deficits of around £500,000, Lynn and her team have had to advise on some large-scale changes to both teaching and support staff structures.

The 3-year budget plan means schools can look at forthcoming retirements and staff moving on to other jobs. Projected costs in budget planning incorporate a worst case scenario of low natural wastage. This means that the school can prepare to meet the costs of redundancies if necessary. In many cases actual redundancy costs will be lower than this.

Lynn and her team have found that engaging early and extensively with unions is critical to implement changes to staffing structures successfully. It’s also essential to engage the whole leadership of the school in savings decisions. This includes the headteacher, staff with finance expertise (such as the business manager), and governors. The decisions are not simply how to balance the books, but how the budget can best support the educational priorities of the school.

It is critical for school leadership teams to present the savings scenarios to colleagues as clearly as possible. The school’s finance team needs to ensure that all budget planning documents are straightforward and transparent so a non-financial audience, which may include governors, can carry out their roles effectively.

Lynn’s team has found that implementing savings options to turn around a substantial budget deficit of £500,000 or more is generally a 3-year process. The first year focuses on budget planning and making sure that staff and unions are on board. Any changes, for example to staff structures, are then implemented gradually in years 2 and 3. Because of this timescale, Forest Way generally continues to work with schools, in a more light-touch way, for up to 12 months after the school has agreed its new budget plan.

If you’d like to find out more about the support that Forest Way is providing, you can contact Lynn Slinger.

[[Source]]: https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/three-year-budget-plan-helps-schools-to-address-budget-deficit

UK government confirms budget for this year's Contracts for Difference scheme as it enters its first annual auction, boosting energy security
 

UK government confirms budget for this year's Contracts for Difference scheme as it enters its first annual auction, boosting energy security

Britain’s rollout of clean, affordable, home-grown energy is moving full speed ahead, with the UK government offering £205 million in its latest renewables auction, boosting energy security, growing our economy and powering more of Britain from Britain.

The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme is the government’s flagship mechanism for supporting new British low-carbon electricity generation projects, so far awarding contracts to projects totalling nearly 27GW of low carbon capacity. This has helped accelerate plans to diversify, decarbonise and domesticate our energy supplies, with the last round (AR4) securing almost 11GW of low carbon capacity - enough to generate sufficient electricity to power 12 million British homes.

Today’s announcement of a budget of £205 million for the fifth CfD allocation round – which is the first CfD auction to run annually - confirms another year of significant financial backing by the government for green industries and jobs. This will bolster investment into the sector every year, helping to support green energy and jobs of tomorrow, level up Britain, and replace expensive fossil fuels with cheaper, cleaner, domestic sources of energy.

This includes £170 million for established technologies such as offshore wind, ensuring Britain remains a front runner in global offshore wind, and £10 million ring-fenced budget available for tidal stream technologies, unlocking a thriving tidal power industry here in the UK.

Building a cleaner, more secure energy future with thriving green industries will also help deliver on our promise to grow our economy and create good jobs across the country, with billions of pounds in private investment and 68,000 green jobs supported since late 2020.

The competitive nature of the Contracts for Difference scheme has already proven successful at placing downward pressure on prices since the first auction was held. This process, together with solar and wind now amongst the cheapest forms of electricity generation in the UK, means the scheme will play an increasingly important role in helping to meet the Energy Security Secretary’s ambition for Britain’s wholesale electricity prices to be among the cheapest in Europe.

Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Graham Stuart said:

Our flagship Contracts for Difference scheme is already delivering clean, homegrown energy as well as growing a green economy with green jobs.

Today’s budget announcement, the move to annual auctions and continued investment in renewable energy will limit the impact of events like Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine and drive our overriding priority for the UK to have amongst the cheapest wholesale electricity prices in Europe.

I am excited to see the opportunities that will open for Britain’s world-class renewable industries as annual auctions kick off this year, enhancing the UK’s reputation as among the most attractive places to invest in for a secure, affordable and prosperous future.

The UK government continues to support the deployment of renewable power right across Britain, with the scheme so far having awarded contracts to 52 projects in Scotland, which represents around 30% of all CfD projects and around 25% of total CfD capacity.  In Wales, the scheme has so far awarded contracts to 9 projects, totalling around 260 MW of capacity.

The scheme is designed to be fair and deliver low carbon deployment at low-cost to consumers – so that when wholesale electricity prices are higher than the price agreed in the CfD, generators pay back the difference. This will be passed on to energy suppliers and over time, is expected to translate to lower bills for consumers.

Offshore wind has been at the heart of the scheme and the industry is a major UK success story thanks to Britain’s flagship CfD scheme. The UK has the largest operational fleet in Europe, the world’s 4 biggest individual windfarms and a world-leading ambition to deploy up to 50 GW by 2030, including up to 5GW of floating offshore wind, which the scheme continues to help deliver. As set out in the British Energy Security Strategy, by 2030 the UK is set to generate more than enough electricity from offshore wind to power every home in Britain, attracting vital investment to UK coastal communities, supporting 90,000 direct and indirect jobs.

This follows an unprecedented £20 billion investment into carbon capture announced yesterday in the Spring Budget, alongside the first state backing of a nuclear project in almost 40 years at Sizewell C and confirming the next steps for Great British Nuclear to revolutionise how new nuclear projects are delivered in the UK.

Neil McDermott, CEO of the Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC), said:

We welcome the announcement from the government on CfD Allocation Round 5. We look forward to working with investors and generators for these important projects as we continue the journey to Net Zero.

[[Source]]: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-confirms-205-million-budget-to-power-more-of-britain-from-britain

The Budget sets out key measures to support households with energy bills and strengthen the UK's energy security.

Measures to support households with their bills and increase the country’s energy security and independence are at the heart of the Budget announced by the Chancellor.

With Putin’s illegal war raging in Ukraine, Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps said the moves will be vital to help people until global gas prices fall further as expected.

Delivering on the Prime Minister’s priorities to ease the cost of living and grow the economy, the Chancellor set out new bold commitments to extend energy bill support for households and to invest in carbon capture, low carbon hydrogen and nuclear as part of a ‘clean energy reset’ to ensure the UK’s energy security in the long term.

The new commitments support the Energy Security Secretary’s ambition for Britain to have among the lowest wholesale electricity prices in Europe by 2035, driving economic growth in the longer term while strengthening the UK’s energy security and independence.

Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps said:

This Budget supports both our immediate and longer-term priorities – bringing energy bills down and keeping them down, while also setting Britain on a path to greater energy security and independence.

Not only will this help achieve our mission for wholesale electricity prices to be among the cheapest in Europe, but it will also help grow our economy through new cutting-edge industries, supporting investment and creating jobs.

Providing energy bills support for households

The Chancellor set out further support to ease cost-of-living pressures on households, including keeping energy bills down to help reduce inflation, and ending the premium that over 4 million households pay on their prepayment metre.
 

Extending energy bills support

• The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will remain at £2,500 for an additional 3 months from April to June
• energy prices are 50% lower than forecast in October, but remain higher than they were before the war in Ukraine, meaning this support will help bridge the gap for families ahead of an expected fall in prices in July
• the Energy Price Guarantee protects customers from increases in energy costs by limiting the amount suppliers can charge per unit of energy used
• this follows previous government support provided over this winter which has already cut the typical household energy bill by almost half

Ending the ‘prepayment penalty’

• The government is taking action to end the ‘prepayment penalty’, introducing fairness reforms to energy bills to remove the premium paid by households using prepayment meters (PPMs)
• this will cut energy bills for over 4 million families across the UK by bringing their costs into line with those paid by comparable customers on direct debits, saving them £45 a year on energy bills. The change is expected to come into effect from July 1 through updates to the Energy Price Guarantee

Delivering a clean energy ‘reset’

To shield households from high energy bills in the future, there will be a ‘reset’ to clean up the UK’s domestic energy supply and boost long term energy security. This will help achieve the Energy Security Secretary’s mission for the UK to have among the cheapest wholesale electricity prices in Europe.

[[Source]]: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/support-for-households-and-energy-security-at-the-heart-of-budget

A £27 billion tax cut for business and a trio of freezes to help families with the cost-of-living headlined the Chancellor’s Spring Budget

A £27 billion tax cut for business through radical ‘full expensing’ policy and capital allowances reform which will drive investment and growth.

• This government will simplify tax for SMEs with over 340,000 businesses in Scotland set to benefit.
• The broad shoulders of the UK mean that measures to ease cost-of-living burden will help more than halve inflation with the extension of Energy Price Guarantee kept at current level, and duties on fuel and a pub pint both frozen.
• Biggest ever set of reforms to remove the barriers that stop those on benefits, older workers, and those with health conditions who want to work from working.
• The government is launching the refocused Investment Zones programme to catalyse 12 high-potential knowledge-intensive growth clusters across the UK, including four across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A £27 billion tax cut for business and a trio of freezes to help families with the cost-of-living headlined the Chancellor’s Spring Budget today, Wednesday 15 March.

Aimed at achieving long-term, sustainable economic growth that delivers prosperity with a purpose for the people of the United Kingdom, the Spring Budget breaks down barriers to work, unshackles business investment and tackles labour shortages head on.

Many of today’s decisions on tax and spending apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. As a result of decisions that do not apply UK-wide, the Scottish Government will receive around an additional £320 million over 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt said:

“Our plan is working – inflation falling, debt down and a growing economy.

“Britain is on a lasting path to growth with a revolution in childcare support, the biggest ever employment package and the best investment incentives in Europe.”

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said:

“Today the Chancellor has set out a Budget which continues cost of living support and will deliver sustainable, long-term growth, helping us halve inflation and reduce our national debt.

“Maintaining the Energy Price Guarantee until June will save the average family £160 a year and gives certainty over their bills until summer. We’ve also made changes to Universal Credit to help people get back to work.

“Other UK Government direct investment in Scotland includes £8.6 million for Edinburgh’s world-class festivals, more than £1 million for five new vital community ownership projects, and investment in Scotland’s innovative high tech sector. The Chancellor has also confirmed there will be Investment Zones in all parts of the UK, building on Scotland’s two new Freeports.”

The Chancellor announced the government will pay the childcare costs of parents on Universal Credit moving into work or increasing their hours upfront, rather than in arrears – removing a major barrier to work for those who are on benefits. The maximum they can claim will also be boosted to £951 for one child and £1,630 for two children – an increase of around 50%.

The Chancellor went on to set out plans to continue to support households with cost-of-living pressures including keeping the Energy Price Guarantee at £2,500 for the next three months and ending the premium that over 4 million households pay on their prepayment meter, bringing their charges into line with comparable customers who pay by direct debit. Taken together with all the government’s efforts to help households with higher costs, these measures bring the total support to an average of £3,300 per UK household over 2022-23 and 2023-24.

To help household budgets further, the planned 11 pence rise in fuel duty will be cancelled and the 5p cut will be maintained for another twelve months, saving a typical driver another £100 on top of the £100 saved so far since last year’s cut.

The generosity of Draught Relief has also been significantly extended from 5% to 9.2%, so that the duty on an average draught pint of beer served in a pub both does not increase from August and will be up to 11 pence lower than the duty in supermarkets. The commitment to duty on a pub pint being lower than the supermarket has been termed the “Brexit Pubs Guarantee” by the Chancellor, and will support over 2,500 pubs and bars in Scotland.

The Chancellor also set out a comprehensive plan to remove the barriers to work facing those on benefits, those with health conditions and older workers. An increase in the pensions Annual Allowance from £40,000 to £60,000 and the abolition of the Lifetime Allowance will remove the disincentives to working for longer.

In line with the government’s vision for the UK to be the best place in Europe for companies to locate, invest and grow, a new first-in-Europe ‘full expensing’ policy will be introduced to boost business investment in an effective cut to corporation tax of £9 billion per year. This makes the UK the joint first most competitive capital allowances regime in the OECD and the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast that this will increase business investment by 3% for every year it is in place. Mr Hunt signalled an intention to make this scheme – which covers equipment for factories, computers and other machinery - permanent when responsible to do so.

Accompanying forecasts by the OBR confirm that with the package of measures Mr Hunt set out today, the economy is on track to grow with inflation halved this year and debt falling – meeting all of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s economic priorities. This comes alongside the confirmation that there are no new tax rises within the Spring Budget.

Childcare

Significant reforms to childcare will remove barriers to work for parents receiving Universal Credit not working due to caring responsibilities, reducing discrimination against women and benefitting the wider economy in the process.

• Childcare costs of parents moving into work or increasing their hours on Universal Credit paid upfront rather than in arrears, with maximum claim boosted to £951 for one child and £1,630 for two children – an increase of around 50%.

Employment

The Chancellor set out a comprehensive plan to remove the barriers to work facing those on benefits, those with health conditions and older workers.

• Experienced workers such as senior doctors will benefit from an increase in the pensions annual allowance from £40,000 to £60,000.
• The Lifetime Allowance will also be abolished altogether, simplifying the tax system through taking thousands out of the complexity of pension tax and stopping over 80% of NHS doctors from receiving a tax charge for any additional hours worked.
• The midlife MOT offer will be expanded and improved to ensure people get the best possible financial, health and career guidance well ahead of retirement. There will be an enhanced digital midlife MOT tool and an expansion of DWP’s in person midlife MOTs for 50+ Universal Credit claimants, aiming to reach 40,000 per year.
• A DWP White Paper on disability benefits reform will herald the biggest change to the welfare system in the past ten years. By abolishing the Work Capability Assessment in Great Britain we will separate level of benefit entitlement from an individual’s ability to work.
• Strengthening work search and work preparation requirements for around 700,000 lead carers of children aged 1-12 claiming Universal Credit in Great Britain.
• Increasing the Administrative Earnings Threshold (AET), which determines how much support and Work Coach time a claimant will receive based on their earnings, for an individual claimant, from 15 to 18 hours at National Living Wage and removing the couples AET in Great Britain. Over 100,000 non-working or low-earning individuals will be asked to meet more regularly Work Coach support to move into work or increase their earnings.
• The application and enforcement of the Universal Credit sanctions regime will be strengthened, by providing additional training for Work Coaches to apply sanctions effectively, including for claimants who do not look for or take up employment, and automating administrative elements of the sanctions process to reduce error rates and free up work coach time.
• Elsewhere, international talent will be attracted through a new migration package that includes adding five construction occupations to the Shortage Occupation List.

Enterprise

The Chancellor put forward a plan to boost innovation, drive business investment and hold down energy costs.

• A ‘full expensing’ policy introduced from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2026 and an extension to the 50% first-year allowance in the same period – a transformation in capital allowances worth £27 billion to businesses over five years.
• A £500 million per year package of support for 20,000 research and development (R&D) intensive businesses through changes to R&D tax credits.
• Generous reforms to tax reliefs for the creative sectors will ensure theatres, orchestras, museums and galleries are protected against ongoing economic pressures and even more world-class productions are made in the UK.
• The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will receive £10 million extra funding over two years to maximise its use of Brexit freedoms and accelerate patient access to treatments. This will allow, from 2024, the MHRA to introduce new, swift approvals systems, speeding up access to treatments already approved by trusted international partners and ground-breaking technologies such as cancer vaccines and AI therapeutics for mental health.
• All of the recommendations from Sir Patrick Vallance’s review into pro-innovation regulation of digital technologies, published alongside Spring Budget today, are to be accepted.
• £900 million of funding for an AI Research Resource and an exascale computer – making the UK one of only a handful of countries to have one – and a commitment to £2.5 billion ten-year quantum research and innovation programme through the government’s new Quantum Strategy.

Levelling Up

To level up growth across the UK and spread opportunity everywhere, local communities will be empowered to command their economic destiny.

• Business rates retention expanded to more areas in the next Parliament.
• Deliver 12 Investment Zones across the UK including 4 across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; support local growth projects in every nation of the UK.
• We will also provide £8.6 million of funding to support the Edinburgh Festivals, and £1 million for 5 community projects in Scotland, including Aberfeldy Sports Club in Perthshire, repairs to the Inveraray Pier, and a community grocery shop and cafe in the Kyle Lochalsh in the Highlands.

Notes to Editors:

• The Chancellor’s speech can be found here.
• Other documents published alongside the Spring Budget today can be found here.
• The OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook verifies that the two fiscal rules outlined by the Chancellor at the Autumn Statement – that underlying debt must fall as a percentage of GDP by the fifth year of the forecast and that public sector borrowing must be below 3% of GDP over the same period – are met with buffers of £6.5 billion and £39.2 billion respectively.

[[Source]]: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-unveils-a-budget-for-growth-to-benefiit-scotland

A revolution in childcare, a £27 billion tax cut for business and a trio of freezes to help families with the cost-of-living headlined the Chancellor’s Spring Budget.


Childcare revolution to expand 30 hours free childcare for children over the age of nine months, alongside boosts to subsidised childcare for parents on Universal Credit including upfront support.

• A £27 billion tax cut for business through radical ‘full expensing’ policy and capital allowances reform which will drive investment and growth.
• Measures to ease cost-of-living burden will help more than halve inflation, with extension of Energy Price Guarantee and duties on fuel and a pub pint both frozen.
• Major set of reforms to support people into work, removing barriers that stop those on benefits, older workers, and those with health conditions who want to work from working.
• Inflation falling, debt down and growth up in Chancellor’s Spring Budget for Growth that delivers upon the Prime Minister’s economic priorities.

Aimed at achieving long-term, sustainable economic growth that delivers prosperity for the people of the United Kingdom, the Spring Budget breaks down barriers to work, unshackles business investment and tackles labour shortages head on.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt said:

“Our plan is working – inflation falling, debt down and a growing economy.

“Britain is on a lasting path to growth with a revolution in childcare support, the biggest ever employment package and the best investment incentives in Europe.”

The Chancellor announced 30 hours of free childcare for every child over the age of 9 months, with support being phased in until every single eligible working parent of under 5s gets this support by September 2025.

The government will also pay the childcare costs of parents on Universal Credit moving into work or increasing their hours upfront, rather than in arrears – removing a major barrier to work for those who are on benefits. The maximum they can claim will also be boosted to £951 for one child and £1,630 for two children – an increase of around 50%.

The Chancellor went on to set out plans to continue to support households with cost-of-living pressures including keeping the Energy Price Guarantee at £2,500 for the next three months and ending the premium that over 4 million households pay on their prepayment meter, bringing their charges into line with comparable customers who pay by direct debit. Taken together with all the government’s efforts to help households with higher costs, these measures bring the total support to an average of £3,300 per UK household over 2022-23 and 2023-24.

To help household budgets further, the planned 11 pence rise in fuel duty will be cancelled, maintaining last year’s 5p cut for another twelve months, saving a typical driver another £100 on top of the £100 saved so far since last year’s cut.

The generosity of Draught Relief has also been significantly extended from 5% to 9.2%, so that the duty on an average draught pint of beer served in a pub both does not increase from August and will be up to 11 pence lower than the duty in supermarkets. The commitment to duty on a pub pint being lower than the supermarket has been termed the “Brexit Pubs Guarantee” by the Chancellor, and this change will also be enjoyed by every pub in Northern Ireland thanks to the Windsor Framework.

The Chancellor also set out a comprehensive plan to remove the barriers to work facing those on benefits, those with health conditions and older workers. An increase in the pensions Annual Allowance from £40,000 to £60,000 and the abolition of the Lifetime Allowance will remove the disincentives to working for longer. A new ‘Returnerships’ skills offer for older workers and more stringent Universal Credit job search requirements also feature in the plan that will boost the UK’s workforce, fill vacancies and support economic growth.

In line with the government’s vision for the UK to be the best place in Europe for companies to locate, invest and grow, a new policy of ‘full expensing’ will be introduced for the next three years to boost business investment in an effective cut to corporation tax of £9 billion per year. This makes the UK the joint most competitive capital allowances regime in the OECD and the only major European economy to have such a policy. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast that this will increase business investment by 3% for every year it is in place. Mr Hunt signalled an intention to make this scheme – which covers equipment for factories, computers and other machinery - permanent when responsible to do so.

Accompanying forecasts by the OBR confirm that with the package of measures Mr Hunt set out today, the economy is on track to grow with inflation halved this year and debt falling – meeting all of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s economic priorities. This comes alongside the confirmation that there are no new tax rises within the Spring Budget.

Childcare

Significant reforms to childcare will remove barriers to work for nearly half a million parents with a child under 3 in England not working due to caring responsibilities, reducing discrimination against women and benefitting the wider economy in the process.

• 30 hours of free childcare for every child over the age of 9 months with working parents by September 2025, where eligibility will match the existing 3-4 year-old 30 hours offer.
• This will be introduced in phases, with 15 hours of free childcare for working parents of 2-year-olds coming into effect in April 2024 and 15 hours of free childcare for working parents of 9 months – 3 years old in September 2024.
• The funding paid to nurseries for the existing free hours offers will also be increased by £204 million from this September rising to £288 million next year.
• Schools and local authorities will be funded to increase the supply of wraparound care, so that parents of school age children can drop their children off between 8am and 6pm – tackling the barriers to working caused by limited availability of wraparound care.
• Childcare costs of parents moving into work or increasing their hours on Universal Credit paid upfront rather than in arrears, with maximum claim boosted to £951 for one child and £1,630 for two children – an increase of around 50%.
• In recognition of both the importance and short supply of childminders, incentive payments of £600 will be piloted from Autumn of this year for those who sign up to the profession (rising to £1,200 for those who join through an agency) to increase the number available and increase choice and affordability for parents.

Employment

The Chancellor set out a comprehensive plan to help people move into work, increase their hours, and extend their working lives, including for those on benefits.

• The Lifetime Allowance charge will be removed before being abolished altogether, removing barriers to remaining in work and simplifying the tax system by taking thousands out of the complexity of pension tax.
• The Annual Allowance will be increased from £40,000 to £60,000, incentivising highly-skilled workers to remain in the labour market. As a result of the pensions tax measures announced today, an estimated 80% of NHS doctors will not receive a tax charge with respect to accruals under the 2015 NHS career average scheme.
• A new ‘Returnerships’ apprenticeship targeted at the over 50s will refine existing skills programmes to make them more accessible to older workers, giving them the skills and support they need to find a recognisable path back into work.
• The midlife MOT offer will be expanded and improved to ensure people get the best possible financial, health and career guidance well ahead of retirement. There will be an enhanced digital midlife MOT tool and an expansion of DWP’s in person midlife MOTs for 50+ Universal Credit claimants, aiming to reach 40,000 per year.
• A DWP White Paper on disability benefits reform will herald the biggest change to the welfare system in the past ten years, to make sure it better meets the needs of disabled people in Great Britain. This includes removing the Work Capability Assessment, meaning the majority of claimants will now have to do one health assessment rather than two. Reforms will also support claimants to try work without fear of losing their financial support.
• A new voluntary employment scheme for disabled people and those with health conditions called Universal Support will be funded in England and Wales. The government will spend up to £4,000 per person to find them a suitable role and cater to their needs, supporting 50,000 places per year once fully rolled out.
• A £406 million plan to tackle the leading health causes keeping people out of work, with investment targeted at services for mental health, musculoskeletal conditions, and cardiovascular disease.
• Strengthening work search and work preparation requirements for around 700,000 lead carers of children aged 1-12 claiming Universal Credit in Great Britain.
• Increasing the Administrative Earnings Threshold (AET) - which determines how much support and Work Coach time a claimant will receive based on their earnings - for an individual claimant, from the equivalent of 15 to 18 hours at National Living Wage and removing the couples AET in Great Britain. Over 100,000 non-working or low-earning individuals will be asked to meet more regularly with their Work Coach for support to move into work or increase their earnings.
• The application and enforcement of the Universal Credit sanctions regime will be strengthened, by providing additional training for Work Coaches to apply sanctions effectively, including for claimants who do not look for or take up employment, and automating administrative elements of the sanctions process to reduce error rates and free up Work Coach time.
• Elsewhere, international talent will be attracted through a new migration package that includes adding five construction occupations to the Shortage Occupation List and expanding the range of short-term business activities that are covered under the UK’s six-month business visit visa offer.

Enterprise

The Chancellor put forward a plan to boost innovation, drive business investment and hold down energy costs.

• A ‘full expensing’ policy introduced from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2026 and an extension to the 50% first-year allowance in the same period – a transformation in capital allowances worth £27 billion to businesses over three years.
• A £500 million per year package of support for 20,000 research and development (R&D) intensive businesses through changes to R&D tax credits.
• Generous reforms to tax reliefs for the creative sectors will ensure theatres, orchestras, museums and galleries are protected against ongoing economic pressures and even more world-class productions are made in the UK.
• The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will receive £10 million extra funding over two years to maximise its use of Brexit freedoms and accelerate patient access to treatments. This will allow, from 2024, the MHRA to introduce new, swift approvals systems, speeding up access to treatments already approved by trusted international partners and ground-breaking technologies such as cancer vaccines and AI therapeutics for mental health.
• All of the recommendations from Sir Patrick Vallance’s review into pro-innovation regulation of digital technologies, published alongside Spring Budget today, are to be accepted.
• £900 million of funding for an AI Research Resource and an exascale computer – making the UK one of only a handful of countries to have one – and a commitment to £2.5 billion ten-year quantum research and innovation programme through the government’s new Quantum Strategy.

Levelling Up

To level up growth across the UK and spread opportunity everywhere, local communities will be empowered to command their economic destiny.

• Greater responsibility for local leaders to grow their local economy.
• Over £200 million for high quality local regeneration projects in areas of need, from the transformation of Ashington Town Centre to a skills and education campus in Blackburn.
• Over £400 million for new Levelling Up Partnerships for twenty areas in England most in need of levelling up, such as Rochdale and Mansfield.
• Business rates retention expanded to more areas in the next Parliament.
• Delivering trailblazer devolution deals for the West Midlands and Greater Manchester Combined Authorities that include single multi-year settlements for the next Spending Review, alongside a commitment to negotiate further devolution deals in England.
• 12 Investment Zones across the UK including 4 across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• £8.8 billion over the next five-year funding period for a second round of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements.

Many of today’s decisions on tax and spending apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. As a result of decisions that do not apply UK-wide, the Scottish Government will receive around an additional £320 million over 2023-24 and 2024-25, the Welsh Government will receive £180 million, and the Northern Ireland Executive will receive £130 million.

[[Source]]: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-unveils-a-budget-for-growth

Spring Budget 2023 speech as delivered by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

Madam Deputy Speaker, in the face of enormous challenges I report today on a British economy which is proving the doubters wrong.

In the autumn we took difficult decisions to deliver stability and sound money.

Since mid-October, 10-year gilt rates have fallen, debt servicing costs are down, mortgage rates are lower and inflation has peaked.

The International Monetary Fund says our approach means the UK economy is on the right track.

But we remain vigilant, and will not hesitate to take whatever steps are necessary for economic stability.

Today the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that because of changing international factors and the measures I take, the UK will not now enter a technical recession this year.

They forecast we will meet the Prime Minister’s priorities to halve inflation, reduce debt and get the economy growing.

We are following the plan and the plan is working.

But that’s not all we’ve done.

In the face of a cost-of-living crisis we have demonstrated our values by protecting struggling families with a £2,500 Energy Price Guarantee, one-off support and the uprating of benefits with inflation.

Taken together, these measures are worth £94 billion over this year and next – one of the largest support packages in Europe.

That averages over £3,300 of cost-of-living help for every household in the country.

Today, we deliver the next part of our plan.

A budget for growth.

Not just the growth that comes when you emerge from a downturn.

But long term, sustainable, healthy growth that pays for our NHS and schools, finds jobs for young people, and provides a safety net for older people all whilst making our country one of the most prosperous in the world.

Prosperity with a purpose.

That’s why growth is one of the Prime Minister’s five priorities for our country.

I will deliver that today …

…by removing obstacles that stop businesses investing;

…by tackling labour shortages that stop them recruiting;

…by breaking down barriers that stop people working;

…and by harnessing British ingenuity to make us a science and technology superpower.

Meeting the Prime Minister’s priorities

I start with the forecasts produced by Richard Hughes and his team at the independent Office for Budget Responsibility whom I thank for their diligent work.

They have looked in detail at the Prime Minister’s economic priorities.

Halving inflation

The first of those is to halve inflation.

Inflation destroys the value of hard-earned pay, deters investment and foments industrial strife.

This government remains steadfast in its support for the independent Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England as it takes action to return inflation to the 2% target.

Despite continuing global instability, the OBR reported today that inflation in the UK will fall from 10.7% in the final quarter of last year to 2.9% by the end of 2023.

That is more than halving inflation.

High inflation is the root cause of the strikes we have seen in recent months.

We will continue to work hard to settle these disputes but only in a way that does not fuel inflation.

Part of the fall in inflation predicted by the OBR happens because of additional measures I take today.

Firstly, I recognise that even though wholesale energy prices have been falling, there is still enormous pressure on family finances.

Some people remain in real distress and we should always stand ready to help where we can.

So after listening to representations from Martin Lewis and other experts, I today confirm that the Energy Price Guarantee will remain at £2,500 for the next three months.

This means the £2,500 cap for the typical household will remain in place when energy prices remain high, ahead of an expected fall in prices from July.

This measure will save the average family a further £160 on top of the energy support measures already announced.

The second measure concerns over four million households on prepayment metres.

They are often the poorest households, but they currently pay more than comparable customers on direct debit. Ofgem has already agreed with suppliers a temporary suspension to forced installations of prepayment metres.

But today I go further, and confirm we will bring their charges in line with comparable direct debit charges. The energy premium paid by our poorest households is coming to an end.

Next I have listened to representations from the hon members for East Devon, North Cornwall, Colne Valley and Central Suffolk and North Ipswich about the risk to community facilities, especially swimming pools, caused by high costs. When times are tough, such facilities matter even more.

So today I am providing a £63 million fund to keep our public leisure centres and pools afloat.

I have also heard from my RHF the charities minister and his Secretary of State about the brilliant work third sector organisations are doing to help people struggling in tough times.

They can often reach people in need that the central or local government cannot, so I will give his department £100 million to support thousands of local charities and community organisations to do their fantastic work.

I also note the personal courage of one of my predecessors, my RHF from Bromsgrove, in talking about the tragedy of suicide and the importance of preventing it.

We already invest a lot in this area, but I will assign an extra £10 million over the next two years to help the voluntary sector play an even bigger role in stopping more families experiencing such intolerable heartache.

My penultimate cost of living measure concerns one of our other most treasured community institutions, the great British pub.

In December, I extended the alcohol duty freeze until 1 August, after which duties will go up in line with inflation in the usual way.

But today, I will do something that was not possible when we were in the EU and significantly increase the generosity of Drought Relief, so that from 1 August the duty on draught products in pubs will be up to 11p lower than the duty in supermarkets, a differential we will maintain as part of a new Brexit pubs guarantee.

Madam Deputy Speaker, British ale may be warm, but the duty on a pint is frozen.

And even better, thanks to the Windsor Framework negotiated by my RHF the Prime Minister, that change will now also apply to every pub in Northern Ireland.

Finally, I have heard the representations from the Honourable Member from Stoke on Trent North, my Rt Hon Friend for Witham and my Rt Hon Friend from South Thanet and the Sun newspaper about the impact on motorists of the planned 11p rise in fuel duty.

Because inflation remains high, I have decided now is not the right time to uprate fuel duty with inflation or increase the duty.

So here’s what I am going to do: for a further 12 months I’m going to maintain the 5p cut … and I’m going to freeze fuel duty too.

That saves the average driver £100 next year and around £200 since the 5p cut was introduced.

Our Energy Price Guarantee, fuel duty and duty on a pint – all frozen in today’s budget.

Something that doesn’t just help families, it helps the economy too because their combined impact reduces CPI inflation by nearly ¾% this year, lowering inflation when it is particularly high.

[[Source]]: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/spring-budget-2023-speech

Budget measures announced by the Chancellor are set to put powers and money in the hands of communities most in need, to help achieve the Prime Minister’s objective to grow the economy and level up across the UK. These measures will deliver more jobs, better services and more opportunities for local people.

A ground breaking devolution package and funding for community projects in the Budget will help further our ambitions to spread opportunity more equally.

The measures build on our place-based approach, as set out in the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper, to ensure targeted measures which best suit the unique economy, geography and expertise of each area.

The Government will be working closely with local leaders in key areas to help attract investment and unleash economic potential. These initiatives include:

Trailblazer devolution deals

• Two new trailblazer devolution deals will see money and powers handed directly to the Mayors of the West Midlands and Greater Manchester, including a direct funding settlement, devolution of post-19 skills funding and functions and greater control of the affordable homes programme.
• A new framework will ensure that decision-makers in areas with devolution deals are accountable to their residents and deliver value for money.
• These agreements are designed to pave the way for future deals in other Mayoral regions.

Investment Zones

• 12 Investment Zones across the UK to drive business investment and levelling up, each backed with £80 million over five years including generous tax incentives. Investment Zones will be based around research institutions such as universities and will be focused on driving growth in one of the UK’s key sectors.
• Eight places in England have been shortlisted to develop proposals in collaboration with the UK Government including the East Midlands; Greater Manchester; Liverpool; the North East; South Yorkshire; the Tees Valley; the West Midlands; and West Yorkshire.
• We are also working closely with the devolved administrations to establish how Investment Zones in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be delivered.

Levelling Up Partnerships

• The rolling out of Levelling Up Partnerships to provide bespoke place-based regeneration in an initial twenty of England’s areas most in need of levelling up over 2023-24 and 2024-25.
• Areas will be invited to form partnerships include the City of Kingston upon Hull, Sandwell, Mansfield, Middlesbrough, Blackburn with Darwen, Hastings, Torbay, Tendring, Stoke-on-Trent, Boston, Redcar and Cleveland, Wakefield, Oldham, Rother, Torridge, Walsall, Doncaster, South Tyneside, Rochdale, and Bassetlaw.
• This will build on the success of deep dives in Grimsby, which saw cross-government working to help avoid the effective closure of the town’s fish processing sector, and in Blackpool, which unlocked a £100 million regeneration plan.
• Partnership locations have been selected based on the analysis in the Levelling Up White Paper which considered places in England against four key metrics: the percentage of adults with Level 3+ qualifications; Gross Value Added (GVA) per hour worked; median gross weekly pay; and healthy life expectancy.
• The Government will consult with the Devolved Administrations and local government to explore potential options in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Through the Budget the government is also providing money for levelling up projects which will deliver benefits to communities, including through:

• Grants for 16 regeneration projects across England, worth a combined £211 million, in Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, East Suffolk, Kirklees, London Borough of Waltham Forest, North East Lincolnshire, Northumberland, Redcar and Cleveland, Rotherham, Salford, Sandwell, Tameside, Telford and Wrekin, Tendring, Wigan and Wolverhampton. These are regeneration projects that can start to spend and deliver quickly, including funding to revitalise town centres and transform derelict buildings for use by communities. These projects, including regeneration of Tipton town centre and a new skills and education campus in Blackburn, will help encourage investment, deliver high quality jobs and level up opportunities. Since the conclusion of the Levelling Up Fund round two, the department has identified further funding to support shortlisted regeneration and town centre bids that were originally made into the Fund.
• £161 million directly to Mayoral Combined Authorities for 32 regeneration projects in city regions across England, including business premises and food science facilities in Tees Valley, and major transport upgrades in the West Midlands. This funding is designed to give Mayors the resources they need to level up their areas and strengthen devolution
• Levelling up projects in the North West worth around £58 million in total, including transport connectivity improvements in Rossendale. Following the second round of the Levelling Up Fund, in which the full £2.1 billion allocation was awarded, the department is using unallocated departmental budgets to fund three further bids which narrowly missed out.
• 30 projects across the UK which will receive a total of £7.73 million from the Community Ownership Fund, bringing valued neighbourhood assets back to the community, including Tollesby playing fields in Middlesbrough and Inveraray pier in Argyll & Bute.

The Spring Budget 2023 takes DLC's overall Levelling Up funding - including our flagship funds and grants - to more than £11 billion. This does not include the billions of pounds of investment from across Government into schools, transport and other services.

[[Source]]: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/levelling-up-at-heart-of-budget

Millions of households will get more support with high energy bills to help ease the cost of living, the Chancellor has announced today ahead of the Spring Budget.

The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will be kept at £2,500 for an additional three months from April to June, saving a typical household £160.

• Energy prices are 50% lower than forecast in October, but remain high, with this support helping bridge the gap to lower prices forecast from the end of June.
• Comes as Chancellor set to confirm new cost of living support at Spring Budget, including ending the prepayment meter premium and help with childcare costs.

The Energy Price Guarantee, which is protecting households by capping typical energy bills at £2,500, will be maintained at the same level for a further three months over April, May, and June, worth £160 in total for a typical household.

The Chancellor is announcing the extension today (15 March) as part of his Spring Budget, which focuses on easing the impact of rising prices, delivering on our promise to halve inflation, and growing the economy by supporting more people into work.

Government support has already cut the typical family energy bill by over £1,300 since October, stopping the average household energy bill hitting £4,279 a year this winter.

The Chancellor’s three-month extension of the Energy Price Guarantee at £2,500 means households won’t feel the full force of Ofgem’s Price Cap between April and June – which stands at £3,280 – helping to bridge consumers into the summer.

Lower wholesale gas prices are expected to feed through to lower household energy bills from July, where Cornwall Insight data suggests the Ofgem Price Cap will reach an estimated £2,100 a year for a typical household.

From April, more support is coming online with 8 million low income and vulnerable households set to receive at least £900 in cash payments over the next year, benefits and pensions set to rise by over 10 per cent, and the National Living Wage increasing to a record £10.42 an hour, so that it always pays to work.

The Spring Budget will go even further, providing hundreds of pounds more in help with childcare costs for parents on Universal Credit and ending the energy premium paid by households who use prepayment meters, which will save 4 million families £45 a year from July.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

We know people are worried about their bills rising in April, so to give people some peace of mind, we’re keeping the Energy Price Guarantee at its current level until the summer when gas prices are expected to fall.

Continuing to hold down energy bills is part of our plan to help hardworking families with the cost of living and halve inflation this year.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said:

High energy bills are one of the biggest worries for families, which is why we’re maintaining the Energy Price Guarantee at its current level. With energy bills set to fall from July onwards, this temporary change will bridge the gap and ease the pressure on families, while also helping to lower inflation too.

Energy Secretary, Grant Shapps said:

Putin’s illegal war has cost British families, which is why we’ve stepped in to pay around half of the typical household energy bill.

With wholesale prices falling families will start to benefit, but in the meantime we’re stepping back in with the Energy Price Guarantee to prevent the typical electricity and gas bill exceeding £2,500. It’s just part of our plan to help families this winter.

At Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced that the EPG was due to rise to £3,000 on April 1, with the Government then expecting to borrow £12 billion to fund this support. Since then, energy prices have fallen by 50%, cutting the borrowing needed to fund energy support by two- thirds to £4 billion.

The change announced today also follows the latest Ofgem Price cap of £3,280 from April to June which, in large part, sets the cost for this three-month extension. Households would pay the full Ofgem price cap rate if there was no Energy Price Guarantee.

Holding down energy bills is also part of the government’s plan to halve inflation this year, and in November the Office for Budget Responsibility said that the EPG would lower the peak rate of inflation.

Further information

The typical family will save £1,500 from the EPG and the Energy Bills Support Scheme, when factoring in the extension.

The total cost of the EPG from April to June is £4 billion. Within this, the additional cost of maintaining the EPG at £2,500 rather than £3,000 is £3 billion.

While the EPG will remain at £2500 on 1 April, there may be small tariff changes as suppliers re-balance between standing charges and unit rates. Implementation of any tariff changes will be determined by the energy suppliers.

The Cornwall Insight data referenced above can be found here.

At Autumn Statement the government announced further support on the cost of living for 2023-24, targeted at those most in need:

• UK households on means-tested benefits will receive a further £900 Cost of Living Payment
• Pensioner households across the UK will receive an additional £300 Cost of Living payment
• People across the UK on non-means-tested disability benefits will receive a further £150 Disability Cost of Living payment, to help with the additional costs they face

From July, households will pay the lower of the Ofgem Price Cap or the Energy Price Guarantee, which will revert to £3,000 from July 2023 until the end of March 2024.

[[Source]]:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/energy-bills-support-extended-for-an-extra-three-months