By Evie Smith-Adams and Laura Blaha
Today Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his first Spring Budget, which is called a “Budget for growth”. He highlighted many issues including energy prices, pensions and childcare.
But has the Budget gone far enough? Many everyday people today said they were struggling due to the cost-of-living crisis, and they weren’t sure if the government was doing enough.
Energy price guarantee
Hunt announced that the energy price guarantee will be extended for a further three months (April-June). This will cap average annual household bills at £2,500. This decision was influenced by energy advice from Martin Lewis.
It was planned that from April 1st there would be a £500 rise in energy bills, this has now been canceled by Mr Hunt.
He 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.”
Liz Roberts, 45, a working mum of four is pleased with the announcement. “We’ve already been struggling as the energy bills are now, so we’re really thankful that they’re staying the same as they are… we wouldn’t be able to manage if they went up any further.”
Whilst people are relieved, they are still struggling.
Kate Settle, 21, is a psychology student at Newcastle University, currently completing her work experience in London, she said: “This situation puts me on edge every month, I only do part time jobs and get some help from my parents if I need it. But if there is another bill that goes up I won’t be able to afford it. I can’t do any more hours and the work experience doesn’t pay me.”
Charles Moreno, 46, is a sous chef in a London restaurant. He said: “Inflation worries me, I earn 46K a year and I can afford the same standard of living I had two years ago, but I notice how everything is going up. Even to buy a house, it’s not just the mortgage, it’s all the bills, it’s making me a bit stuck.”
The UK will not enter a recession
Hunt has announced that the UK will not enter a “technical recession” this year as forecasted by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
“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,” he said.
The “biggest change to our welfare system in a decade”
The government will be funding “universal support” a new programme which could help up to 50,000 people each year.
Mr Hunt confirmed that: “The ever-diligent Work and Pensions Secretary today takes the next step in his ground-breaking work on tackling economic inactivity. I thank him for that, and today we publish a White Paper on disability benefits reform.
“His plans will abolish the Work Capability Assessment in Great Britain and separate benefit entitlement from an individual’s ability to work. As a result, disabled benefit claimants will always be able to seek work without fear of losing financial support.”
In addition to this, he said £400million would be allocated for to help people suffering from health problems, including those who need aid with muscular skeletal support and mental health problems.
Abolishing the lifetime allowance limit on pensions
The chancellor announced plans to abolish the lifetime allowance limit on pensions. He believes that no one should be pushed out of the workforce for tax reasons.
Mr Hunt said the changes would “stop over 80% of NHS doctors from receiving a tax charge” and incentivise “our most experienced and productive workers to stay in work for longer”.
Childcare support
People who are on Universal Credit will now be able to claim more cash for childcare and also receive funding upfront. The maximum cap on Universal Credit costs is set to increase to £950 for a single child and £1,680 for two.
Furthermore, the current limit of funded childcare in England for parents of three and four-year-olds which is £300 will now be extended to also cover children aged from 9 months to two years if the adults are working 16 hours.
Other key points
There will be increased draught relief for pubs, fuel duty will remain frozen, the government will “uprate tobacco duty”, £11billion will be added to the defence budget over the next 5 years, another £30million will be allocated for veterans and corporation tax will increase by 25%.
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