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Jeremy Hunt has abolished the lifetime tax-free pensions allowance and introduced free childcare for youngsters under three in a budget aimed at getting people back to work.

The chancellor announced his plans on Wednesday to get older people back in work and to help parents, mainly women, who cannot afford to go back to work due to high childcare costs.

For older people – who he said he preferred to describe as “experienced” – Mr Hunt has increased the annual tax-free pension allowance and abolished the Lifetime Allowance.

The changes to pensions are:

• Annual tax-free pension savings allowance increased by 50% from £40,000 to £60,000

• Lifetime Allowance on pension savings scrapped so people will now be allowed to put aside as much as they can in their private scheme without being taxed (there is currently a £1m threshold)

Read more on the budget:
Budget live: Hunt announces ‘crowd pleasers’ – as pension and childcare changes go further than expected
The key points of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s speech

On childcare, Mr Hunt announced:

• Ratios of two-year-olds to staff at nurseries can be increased from 1:4 to 1:5 – this is optional

• Parents on Universal Credit who are moving into work will have their childcare costs paid upfront by the government

• The maximum Universal Credit parents can claim will be increased to £951 for one child and £1,630 for two children – an increase of almost 50%

• Schools and local authorities will be funded to increase wraparound care so parents can have their children looked after between 8am and 6pm by September 2026

• In households where all adults work at least 16 hours, every child from nine months old to school age will get 30 hours of free childcare per week by September 2025

There will be a staggered introduction:

• 15 hours of free care a week for two-year-olds, from April 2024

• 15 hours of free child care for all children from nine months and up, from September 2024

While the Tories lauded the announcements as Mr Hunt’s “rabbit out of the hat” moment of the budget, Labour said the pension plan will only help the wealthiest.

On pension changes, Sir Keir Starmer said: “The only permanent tax cut in the budget is for the richest 1%. How can that happen?”

He accused the Conservatives of a plan for “managed decline, Britain going backwards, the sick man of Europe once again”.

“After 13 years of Tory sticking plaster politics… working people are entitled to ask am I any better off than I was before?” he said.

“The resounding answer is ‘no’ – and they (Tories) know it.”

Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said changing the staff-to-child ratios is “appalling” and it is an economic decision that parents and teachers do not want.

“It’s not just about economics, children are not commodities, we’re talking about children’s lives,” he told Sky News.

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Elon Musk hints 80-hour-a-week DOGE job for ‘high-IQ revolutionaries’ will be unpaid

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Elon Musk hints 80-hour-a-week DOGE job for 'high-IQ revolutionaries' will be unpaid

“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.

The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.

The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.

“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.

“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.

“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”

Read more:
Who is in Trump’s top team?
Trump’s cabinet signals tough stance on China

Elon Musk speaks after President-elect Donald Trump spoke during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Image:
Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.

“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.

“What a great deal!”

When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.

Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”

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At least 10 dead after fire rips through retirement home in Spain

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At least 10 dead after fire rips through retirement home in Spain

At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.

A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.

Jardines de Villafranca nursing home following the fire.
Pic: AP
Image:
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP

They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.

Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.

Residents are moved out of the nursing home following the fire.
Pic: AP
Image:
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP

Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.

The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.

Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary

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The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.

All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.

Relatives waiting for news outside the nursing home where least 10 people have died in a fire in Zaragoza, Spain.
Pic: AP
Image:
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP

Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.

It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.

The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.

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World

At least 10 dead after fire rips through retirement home in Spain

Published

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By

At least 10 dead after fire rips through retirement home in Spain

At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.

A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.

Jardines de Villafranca nursing home following the fire.
Pic: AP
Image:
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP

They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.

Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.

Residents are moved out of the nursing home following the fire.
Pic: AP
Image:
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP

Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.

The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.

Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.

All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.

Relatives waiting for news outside the nursing home where least 10 people have died in a fire in Zaragoza, Spain.
Pic: AP
Image:
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP

Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.

It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.

The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.

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