Budget news

Jeremy Hunt has now delivered the 2023 Spring Statement, below is a recap of all the issues addressed that UK tech should know.

Hunt has repeatedly said he wants to make the UK a science and technology superpower. In an effort to progress this goal, Hunt announced the The zones will be centred around high-level research centres such as universities. The chancellor claimed this will only affect 10% of businesses. This will come in the form of a £1m prize (called the Manchester Prize) per year to the firm that has achieved the “most groundbreaking British AI research” as well as additional funding for computing power. Hunt said that current business tax rates were discouraging enterprise and investments.

In positive news, the Chancellor removed the pension lifetime allowance while the yearly allowance increased from £40,000 to £60,000 in a bid to discourage ...

Our ICS Network finance forum meets bi-monthly to explore key finance policy issues which will shape the future of the NHS and to engage with national policy stakeholders. We are pleased to see additional investment in modernising and digitising mental health services in England, such as digitising the NHS Talking Therapies programme. These reforms should allow faster regulatory sign off for medicines and technologies, ultimately meaning patients in the UK will get faster access to innovative treatments. The newly agreed devolution deals for the West Midlands and Greater Manchester include single funding settlements, bringing together disconnected grants and pots which will be of interest for ICS leaders in these areas. In particular, system leaders should seek to understand the potential for health to influence the new innovation zones, levelling-up partnerships and regeneration projects. [recent report](/publications/safety-net-springboard), an NHS that is appropriately staffed will directly increase local productivity through more people being employed in good work, enabling the NHS to collectively widen access to healthcare and reduce waiting lists. The abolition of the pension lifetime allowance was a significant surprise in the budget and will help reassure senior doctors concerned about large pensions related tax bills. Staff shortages are a key reason behind the industrial dispute and the imperative to offer hope to staff that workforce numbers will increase. [ [*](#footnote_oj98iqq) ] This is to the significant detriment of the public purse, and the impacts have caused their own [public health emergency](https://www.nhsconfed.org/news/nhs-leaders-make-unprecedented-move-urging-government-act-now-rising-energy-costs-or-risk). Over a year on from the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we are still experiencing supply issues with certain products and materials, and high energy costs. In particular, we emerge from today with uncertainty on the pay award for 2023/24 and without publication of the much-anticipated long-term workforce plan. The economic downturn will be shorter and shallower.

The government will spend billions to boost labour supply via tax breaks on pensions and expanded free childcare. It said the plans would help to grow the ...

The annual allowance will remain in place, but will go up from £40,000 to £60,000, after being frozen for nine years. will lead to many more increasing their hours - helping to grow the economy and raise living standards for everyone." The OBR further estimate that extra workers will boost the size of the economy by 0.2% - equivalent to about £4.5bn, some of which the government will get back in extra taxes and a smaller benefits bill. On Wednesday, the OBR, noted that the impact of the back to work policies was uncertain, saying the final figure for the number of extra people in work could be half (or double) the main estimate of 110,000 workers. Persuading workers to work for longer is part of UK plans to boost growth, with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's Wednesday announcement on tax and spending being dubbed the "Back to work Budget". The changes are expected to bring 110,000 back to work, which the Institute for Fiscal Studies said was "just a fraction" of the those who'd left work over the past two years.

Millions of people will benefit from specific support to look for work, acquire new skills and progress into better-paid jobs.

Energy bills, beer, fuel and inflation: the key announcements in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's March budget.

The government plans for a quarter of electricity to be nuclear-powered by 2050. Under the EPG the government effectively caps household costs and reimburses energy companies for the difference between that, and the cost of buying power on wholesale markets. The government will abolish the work capability assessment for disabled people and separate benefit entitlement from an individual's ability to work. The OBR said it will increase business investment by 3% for every year. Fuel duty will also be frozen for the next 12 months. Mr Hunt announced the measure for the next three years but intends to make it permanent "as soon as we can responsibly do so". Mr Hunt said it will make existing skills programmes more appealing for older workers and focus on previous experience. As expected, the government is extending the energy price guarantee (EPG), which keeps the average household bill at £2,500 until the end of June by capping the unit price of electricity. This will be staggered from April 2024 to ensure enough places. They can claim credit worth £27 for every £100 spent. Mr Hunt hopes it will stop 80% of NHS doctors from receiving a tax charge. [Click here for our budget calculator to see if you are better or worse off](https://news.sky.com/story/budget-2023-calculator-see-if-you-are-better-or-worse-off-after-chancellor-jeremy-hunts-statement-12834667)

Cllr Kevin Bentley, Leader of Essex County Council, spoke on today's budget announcements on Devolution and Levelling Up. Cllr Bentley said: “We are seeing ...

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government is “a bit late to the party” when it comes to childcare while the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has ...

And from September 2025 every single working parent of under-5s will have access to 30 hours free childcare per week.” So thank you to the chancellor.” so you need to budget for that change.” The scheme will be rolled out over from next Spring until Autumn 2025. “Because it is such a large reform, we will introduce it in stages to ensure there is enough supply in the market. On the energy credits which the government has paid out over winter, he said: “The £66/67 a month you are receiving for energy bills is going to stop in April ... Mr Lewis says this means: “to get the full gain from this you need to be born in December 2024.” Martin Lewis hands over to Jeremy Hunt, who said yesterday: “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. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government is “a bit late to the party” when it comes to childcare while the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said it is “highly uncertain” what impact Jeremy Hunt's extension of free childcare will have on the labour market. Martin Lewis turns to one of the more talked about points from the Budget: Childcare reforms. The maximum amount that parents on universal credit can claim for childcare will also increase from £646 to £951 for one child, and from £1,108 to £1,630 for two – an increase of just under 50 per cent. [It comes after Mr Lewis](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/martin-lewis) revealed “the one miss” in the government’s [expansion of childcare funding](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/budget-childcare-changes-breakdown-b2301930.html) announcement.

Research and development (R&D) funding and tax support, targeted tech investment into 12 regions of the UK, and an artificial intelligence technology sandbox ...

In January, the government awarded £12m to Barclays Eagle Labs, instead of renewing Tech Nation’s funding. Research and development (R&D) funding and tax support, targeted tech investment into 12 regions of the UK, and an artificial intelligence technology sandbox that aims to boost investment in start-ups, were all unveiled in the chancellor’s plan for the coming year. “Those companies that spend over 40% on R&D can get back 27p on the pound. “One of the biggest shocks for the tech industry was the collapse of SVB, one of the leading banks for start-ups and venture capital firms,” he added. In addition to the collapse of SVB, the announcement that the UK government has withdrawn funding for non-profit industry organisation, Tech Nation, has left start-ups needing more reassurance and strategy from government. The UK’s 2023 Spring Budget has been criticised by start-ups and the wider UK tech industry claiming it “underdelivers for the UK tech sector.”

A summary of the announcements in the Spring Budget of 15 March 2023 and an overview of the latest economic forecasts.

Once the Chancellor finished his statement, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published updated forecasts in its [economic and fiscal outlook](https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2023/). [Background to Spring Budget 2023](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9649/) explains, UK economic growth has been weak. In February 2023, the House of Commons approved revised targets for the public finances. Both targets are currently being met in the OBR’s forecast. He described it as a “Budget for growth”. [The Budget and the annual Finance Bill](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn00813/)

Pensions tax-break for very wealthy contrasts badly with huge increases faced by basic and higher rate taxpayers.

That is a rise of more than four percentage points on its pre-pandemic level and the highest since the second world war. Other departments face a renewed squeeze, with the Resolution Foundation calculating there will be cuts of 10% in day-to-day spending over the next five years. The UK was on course for another lost decade for living standards, according to the IFS’s director, Paul Johnson. Firstly, it will mean that by 2027-28 tax as a share of national income will rise to just shy of 38%. If tax allowances do not rise in line with earnings growth, fiscal drag means people on lower incomes have to start paying tax and more people are affected by the higher 40% rate. Income tax thresholds have been frozen until 2027-28, which will mean the average basic rate taxpayer will eventually be paying £800 a year more, while a higher rate taxpayer will be paying an extra £1,700.

Budget measures announced by the Chancellor are set to put powers and money in the hands of communities most in need.

On Wednesday 15 March, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his first Budget since taking over the top job at the Treasury in October 2022. Read what the Spring ...

Also floated for weeks prior to the Spring Budget, and confirmed yesterday, was the confirmation of the rise in corporation tax from 19% to 25% from April 2023. RIBA has long been clear that to meaningfully level up and tackle the effects of disinvestment, planning departments must be equipped to recruit and retain qualified design expertise. This is a welcome commitment to sustainability, especially in the context of increased localism. Running to March 2024, under the EBDS eligible non-domestic consumers will receive a per-unit discount on their energy bills during the 12 month period from April 2023 to March 2024, subject to a maximum discount. Linked to the levelling up agenda, devolving power to local leaders was another priority, and one which RIBA has long been calling for. Alongside this, £200m of funding will be available for 16 regeneration projects in England, targeted towards “left-behind” places identified in the Levelling Up White Paper, or projects that are under £10m.

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