What was in the mini-budget and what has been scrapped?

Published

3 years ago

October 17, 2022

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Just over three weeks ago, then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled his tax-cutting mini-budget to MPs which caused economic turmoil in the UK.

Following a dramatic U-turn on a promise to abolish the 45% higher rate of income tax after backlash from the government’s own Conservative MPs earlier this month, Mr Kwarteng has now been sacked – and many of the other pledges in the mini-budget have been torn up.

On Friday, the government scrapped its decision to axe the rise in corporation tax to 25% next year.

Addressing the nation in a statement on Monday morning, newly appointed chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed that most of the other mini-budget proposals have also now been thrown in the bin as Prime Minister Liz Truss seeks to hold on to her premiership.

Hunt goes further than expected – as Tory MPs say it’s ‘when not if’ Truss goes – follow latest on politics

Here is a breakdown of what was in the government’s mini-budget at the end of September and what has changed:

Income tax:

What was pledged?

• The government pledged that the 45% higher rate of income tax would be abolished.

• There was a promise to reduce the basic rate of income tax to 19p in the pound by April 2023, meaning 31 million people would be better off by an average of £170 a year.

What has changed?

• The government rowed back on its decision to scrap the highest rate of income tax earlier this month.

• Mr Hunt said the basic rate of income tax would now “indefinitely” stay at 20p until economic conditions allowed a reduction.

“It is a deeply held Conservative value – a value that I share – that people should keep more of the money that they earn,” the new chancellor said.

“But at a time when markets are rightly demanding commitments to sustainable public finances, it is not right to borrow to fund this tax cut.”

Corporation tax

What was pledged?

• The government said it would cancel a UK-wide rise in corporation tax which was due to increase from 19% to 25% in April.

What has changed?

• Ms Truss confirmed in a brief press conference on Friday that she was dropping this flagship policy of her leadership campaign and that corporation tax will go up from 19% to 25% in April after all.

Energy package

What was pledged?

• The government said household bills would be cut by an expected £1,000 this year with aid from the energy price guarantee and £400 grant. The energy price guarantee had been due to cap prices for two years.

What has changed?

• Mr Hunt confirmed the energy price guarantee will now end in April after which time the government will look to target help on those most in need.

IR35 rules

What was pledged?

• The government promised to “simplify” IR35 rules – the rules which govern off-payroll working. It promised to change the regulations so pensions funds can increase UK investments.

What has changed?

• Mr Hunt confirmed the government will now abandon these proposed IR35 changes.

Alcohol duty

What was pledged?

• The government said in the mini-budget that planned increases in the duties on beer, for cider, for wine, and for spirits would be cancelled.

What has changed?

• Mr Hunt confirmed this will now no longer be the case, with the price of beer, cider, wine and sprits soon rising.

Dividend tax change

What was pledged?

• The government announced in the mini-budget that from 6 April 2023, the additional rate applying to dividend income would be abolished and the 1.25% rise in the dividend rates, initially brought into force in April this year, would be reversed.

What has changed?

• Mr Hunt said the government will no longer reverse the 1.25% rise in the dividend rates.

VAT-free shopping

What was pledged?

• The government pledged VAT-free shopping for overseas visitors.

What has changed?

• Mr Hunt said this policy has now been scrapped.

Stamp duty

What was pledged?

• The government promised to cut stamp duty which is paid when people buy a property in England and Northern Ireland. It said no stamp duty would be paid on the first £250,000 of any property and no stamp duty on the first £425,000 for first-time buyers.

What has changed?

• Mr Hunt confirmed this is one of very few policies in the controversial mini-budget which will remain.

National Insurance

What was pledged?

• The government said it would reverse the recent rise in National Insurance from 6 November. Workers and employers have paid an extra 1.25% since April 2022.

What has changed?

• Mr Hunt confirmed that, like stamp duty, this policy has survived the mini-budget cull.

Bankers’ bonuses

What was pledged?

• The government announced it was scrapping rules which limit bankers’ bonuses.

What has changed?

• Mr Hunt did not mention bankers’ bonuses in his statement. But a Treasury source has told Sky News there is “no change in policy there.” They said the cap “was bad policy” adding that it “didn’t cap bankers pay and was bad for financial stability”.

World

‘At least 798 killed’ at Gaza aid points – as medical charity warns acute malnutrition at all-time high

Published

11 hours ago

July 11, 2025

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'At least 798 killed' at Gaza aid points - as medical charity warns acute malnutrition at all-time high

At least 798 people in Gaza have reportedly been killed while receiving aid in the past six weeks – while acute malnutrition is said to have reached an all-time high.

The UN human rights office said 615 of the deaths – between 27 May and 7 July – were “in the vicinity” of sites run by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

A further 183 people killed were “presumably on the route of aid convoys,” said Ravina Shamdasani, from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Its figures are based on a range of sources, including hospitals, cemeteries, and families in the Gaza Strip, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), its partners on the ground, and Hamas-run health authorities.

Aid agency Project Hope said on Thursday that 10 children were among at least 15 people killed as they waited for its clinic in Deir al Balah to open.

The GHF has claimed the UN figures are “false and misleading” and has repeatedly denied any violence at or around its sites.

Meanwhile, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) – also known as Doctors Without Borders – said two of its sites were seeing their worst-ever levels of severe malnutrition.

Cases at its Gaza City clinic are said to have tripled from 293 in May to 983 in early July.

“Over 700 pregnant or breastfeeding women and nearly 500 children are now receiving emergency nutritional care,” MSF said.

The humanitarian medical charity said food prices were at extreme levels, with sugar at $766 (£567) per kilo and flour $30 (£22) per kilo, and many families surviving on one meal of rice or lentils a day.

It’s a major concern for the estimated 55,000 pregnant women in Gaza, who risk miscarriage, stillbirth and malnourished infants because of the shortages.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel eased its 11-week blockade of aid into the coastal territory.

It has four distribution centres, three of which are in the southern Gaza Strip.

The sites, kept off-limits to independent media, are guarded by private security contractors and located in zones where the Israeli military operates.

Palestinian witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire towards crowds of people going to receive aid.

The Israeli military says it has fired warning shots at people who have behaved in what it says is a suspicious manner.

It says its forces operate near the aid sites to stop supplies from falling into the hands of militants.

After the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach the aid hubs, the United Nations has called the GHF’s aid model “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.

In response, a GHF spokesperson said: “The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys.”

The GHF says it has delivered more than 70 million meals to Gazans in five weeks and claims other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted” by Hamas or criminal gangs.

World

At least 798 people have been killed at Gaza aid points, the UN says

Published

19 hours ago

July 11, 2025

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At least 798 people in Gaza have been killed while receiving aid in six weeks, the UN human rights office has said.

A spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said 615 of the killings were “in the vicinity” of sites run by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

A further 183 people killed were “presumably on the route of aid convoys,” Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.

The office said its figures are based on numbers from a range of sources, including hospitals, cemeteries and families in the Gaza Strip, as well as NGOs, its partners on the ground and the Hamas-run health authorities.

The GHF has claimed the figures are “false and misleading”. It has repeatedly denied there has been any violence at or around its sites.

The organisation began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel eased its 11-week blockade of aid into the enclave.

It has four distribution centres, three of which are in the southern Gaza Strip. The sites, kept off-limits to independent media, are guarded by private security contractors and located in zones where the Israeli military operates.

Palestinian witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire towards crowds of people going to receive aid.

The Israeli military says it has fired warning shots at people who have behaved in what they say is a suspicious manner.

It says its forces operate near the aid sites to stop supplies falling into the hands of militants.

In response, a GHF spokesperson told the Reuters news agency: “The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys.”

The GHF says it has delivered more than 70 million meals to Gazans in five weeks and claims other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted” by Hamas or criminal gangs.

World

Ten children among at least 15 killed waiting for Gaza health clinic to open, says aid group

Published

23 hours ago

July 11, 2025

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Ten children among at least 15 killed waiting for Gaza health clinic to open, says aid group

Ten children and two women are among at least 15 killed in an airstrike near a Gaza health clinic, according to an aid organisation.

Project Hope said it happened this morning near Altayara Junction, in Deir al Balah, as patients waited for the clinic to open.

The organisation’s president called it a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and a stark reminder that no one and no place is safe in Gaza“.

“No child waiting for food and medicine should face the risk of being bombed,” added the group’s project manager, Dr Mithqal Abutaha.

“It was a horrific scene. People had to come seeking health and support, instead they faced death.”

Operations at the clinic – which provides a range of health and maternity services – have been suspended.

Some of the children were reportedly waiting to receive nutritional supplements, necessary due to the dire shortage of food being allowed into Gaza.

Israel‘s military is investigating and said it was targeting a militant who took part in the 7 October terror attack.

“The IDF [Israel Defence Force] regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible,” added.

The deaths come as an agreement over a 60-day truce hangs in the balance – with President Trump cautiously saying it could happen “this week, or next week”.

Elsewhere in Gaza, the Nasser Hospital reported another 21 deaths in airstrikes in Khan Younis and in the nearby coastal area of Muwasi.

It said three children and their mother were among the dead.

Israel said its troops have been dismantling more than 130 Hamas infrastructure sites in Khan Younis over the past week, including missile launch sites, weapons storage facilities and a 500m tunnel.

On Wednesday, a soldier was shot dead when militants burst out of a tunnel and tried to abduct him, the military added.

Eighteen soldiers have been killed in the past three weeks – one of the deadliest periods for the Israeli army in months.

A 22-year-old Israeli man was also killed on Thursday by two attackers in a supermarket in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said the Magen David Adom emergency service.

People on site reportedly shot and killed the attackers but information on their identity has so far not been released.

Negotiations over a proposed 60-day ceasefire are ongoing and President Trump reportedly put “heavy” pressure on Israel’s leader, who visited the US this week.

A major sticking point is said to be the status of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire and beyond, should it last longer.

However, Sky News understands the Israeli government thinks the chances of a permanent truce are “questionable”.

More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war – more than half are women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry.

Its figure does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

The war began in October 2023 after Hamas killed around 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 251 others.

Some of them remain In Gaza and are a crucial part of ceasefire negotiations, which also include a planned surge in humanitarian aid into the strip.