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Briefings and speculation are rife over what will be included in the chancellor’s budget on Wednesday, particularly the scale of tax rises.

The biggest expected revenue raiser, set to generate as much as £20bn for public services, is a hike in employers’ national insurance.

Government sources have given strong indications of the chancellor’s thinking, prompting questions about whether this breaks Labour’s manifesto commitment not to hike the three main taxes – income tax, national insurance and VAT for “working people”.

Hikes in capital gains tax and inheritance tax have been touted as ways the Labour government could find money to balance the books and fix public services.

The budget’s contents will be only be official when Rachel Reeves sets it out on Wednesday, but these are some measures Sky News expects – and doesn’t expect – to be included.

No rises to income tax, national insurance or VAT

Labour ruled out increasing income tax, national insurance and VAT in its manifesto before getting elected, promising to protect “working people” – though who they define as a “working person” has come into question of late.

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The chancellor is also expected to prolong the freeze on income tax thresholds by two years to 2030 after the previous Conservative government froze them until 2028.

The Budget - a special programme on Sky News

Employers’ national insurance hike expected

The amount employers pay in national insurance is set to rise by up to two percentage points, and the money will – in part – be used to help inject £10bn into cutting NHS waiting lists.

A government source told Sky News: “There is a universal consensus that the NHS needs more money.

“That means asking businesses to help out.

“The choice is investment versus decline. She [Rachel Reeves] is choosing not to ask working people to pay the price for their [Conservatives’] failures.”

Housing

The government has confirmed that a large boost in affordable housing will be in the upcoming budget.

It says there will be £500m in new funding to help build up to 5,000 social homes and bring total investment in housing supply to £5bn as part of the government’s Affordable Homes Programme.

£1.4bn for crumbling schools

The chancellor has promised her budget will include £1.4bn to rebuild crumbling schools.

She said children “should not suffer” due to the UK’s depleted public purse, while economists said the funding would generally ensure existing plans keep going, rather than pay for many new initiatives. Teachers said much more cash was needed.

The Treasury said the £1.4bn would “ensure the delivery” of the school rebuilding programme, which was announced in 2020 under then prime minister Boris Johnson.

Funding for nurseries, breakfast clubs and childcare

The Treasury has also confirmed £1.8bn would be allocated for the expansion of government-funded childcare, with a further £15m of capital funding for school-based nurseries.

The Treasury said the first stage of the plan would pay for 300 new or expanded nurseries across England.

Ms Reeves also said she would “triple” investment in free breakfast clubs to £30m in 2025-26, after she announced at Labour’s party conference in September a £7m trial across up to 750 schools starting in April.

VAT exemption for private schools to be scrapped

Labour have long made clear their plans to scrap the VAT exemption and business rates relief for private schools in a bid to fund 6,500 new teachers in state schools.

Details of the government’s assessment of the expected impacts of these policy changes will be published when the budget comes out on 30 October.

This is only two months before the policy is due to come into effect on 1 January 2025, and will likely include details of whether schools will be forced to increase their fees.

It is now expected that military families, a number of whom send their children to private boarding schools because they could be posted abroad at short notice, will be exempt from paying increased fees.

Changes to the £2 bus fare cap

Bus fares have been capped at £2 on more than 4,600 routes in England since 1 January 2023.

Hundreds of operators outside of London have been part of the scheme, which has cost around £500m.

Introducing the scheme in 2023, former transport secretary Mark Harper said it was aimed at helping passengers afford bus travel for both their sakes and the sake of the environment.

But the scheme, which is currently meant to run until at least 31 December, is set to be changed as it is reportedly not generating economic benefit. It is unclear if the cap will be raised or removed entirely.

Read more:
As budget nears, faith in government ‘on a knife edge’

Reeves has left herself with very few political levers to pull for cash
Starmer denies waging ‘war against middle Britain’ with budget

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Billions to be allocated to NHS

The government will be putting aside up to £10bn for the NHS, largely to help it tackle ballooning waiting lists after COVID, currently at a record high of 7.6 million, and to deliver on their promise of another 40,000 hospital appointments per week.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting last week said he has agreed on a plan for NHS funding with the chancellor – but noted the funds won’t actually be available until six months’ time.

“Investment in the budget, that comes in the new fiscal year in April, so that’s spring,” he said.

Labour are facing “difficult and big choices”, Mr Streeting warned, as he said the government “can’t fix 14 years in one budget”.

Carer’s Allowance expansion

Ms Reeves is expected to raise the limit people can earn before being ineligible for the Carers Allowance from £151 a week to £181.

It would mean tens of thousands of carers who aren’t currently eligible would get an extra £81.90 a week under the scheme.

The budget is set to take place at 12.30pm on Wednesday 30 October.

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British tourist who fell ill from methanol poisoning dies after ‘free shots’ giveaway in Laos resort

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British tourist who fell ill from methanol poisoning dies after 'free shots' giveaway in Laos resort

A British tourist being treated after a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos has died, according to UK officials.

Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent, fell ill after reportedly drinking “free shots” from a local bar in Vang Vieng – a resort popular with backpackers.

Four people had already died following the suspected poisonings – an Australian named Bianca Jones, 19, from Melbourne, as well as two Danish women in their 20s and a 56-year-old US citizen.

They are believed to have consumed drinks tainted with methanol, which is sometimes added to mixed drinks as a cheaper alternative to alcohol, but can cause severe poisoning or death.

“We are supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Laos, and we are in contact with the local authorities,” the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said in a statement.

The FCDO said it was also providing consular assistance to other British nationals hospitalised in the incident, as well as their families.

Bianca Jones
Image:
Bianca Jones, a 19-year-old from Australia, also died

Explained:
What is methanol, how does it end up in alcoholic drinks, and how can you avoid it?

Ms White was an associate lawyer specialising in intellectual property and technology and worked at the London office of the American law firm Squire Patton Boggs.

Her work involved general commercial matters, and contentious and non-contentious intellectual property law issues, according to the firm’s website.

Bethany Clarke, a friend of Ms White and a healthcare worker, also from Orpington, said a group of six people had been taken to hospital after drinking from the same bar.

She posted on a Laos Backpacking Facebook group to warn other travellers after the group fell ill.

“Urgent – please avoid all local spirits. Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars,” she wrote.

“Just avoid them as so not worth it. Six of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.”

‘Every parent’s very worst fear’

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed to his country’s parliament that 19-year-old Bianca Jones had died after being evacuated to a Thai hospital from Vang Vieng.

Thai authorities confirmed that Jones had died of “brain swelling due to high levels of methanol found in her system”.

Her friend Holly Bowles, also 19, remains in hospital in neighbouring Thailand, Mr Albanese said.

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Laos methanol poisonings – what we know

Australian officials said “several foreign nationals” had also been victims of methanol poisoning

“This is every parent’s very worst fear and a nightmare that no one should have to endure,” Mr Albanese said.

“We also take this moment to say that we’re thinking of Bianca’s friend Holly Bowles who is fighting for her life.”

‘Her incredible spirit touched so many lives’

In a statement to the Melbourne Herald Sun newspaper, Ms Jones’ family paid tribute to her.

“She was surrounded by love, and we are comforted by the knowledge that her incredible spirit touched so many lives during her time with us,” the family wrote.

“We want to express our deepest gratitude for the overwhelming support, love, and prayers we’ve received from across Australia.”

The US State Department confirmed that an American had also died in Vang Vieng, and Denmark’s Foreign Ministry said two of its citizens had also died in “the incident in Laos”.

Neither would comment directly on a link to methanol poisoning.

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Storm Bert: Second named storm of season to bring snow, rain and 70mph winds to UK at weekend

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Storm Bert: Second named storm of season to bring snow, rain and 70mph winds to UK at weekend

The second named storm of the season will bring snow, rain and strong winds to parts of the UK this weekend, according to the Met Office.

Hundreds of schools are closed as the storm, named Bert, sweeps in, bringing freezing temperatures and snow over the weekend.

Wind gusts of up to 70mph are expected in some areas as well as the potential of flooding and travel disruption.

Heavy snowfall could bring further disruption to parts of the country while heavy rain is also likely over the weekend, the Met Office added.

Snowy conditions, in the village of Goathland, North York Moors National Park.
Pic: PA
Image:
Snowy conditions, in the village of Goathland, North York Moors National Park.
Pic: PA

Parts of southwest England including Plymouth and Exeter are under a yellow warning for snow until 3pm today, with 5-10cm predicted in higher parts of Dartmoor.

Wintry showers will continue in different parts of the UK throughout Thursday and Friday, amid warnings of snow and ice for much of Scotland, northern England and parts of western and eastern England and Wales between midday today and 10am tomorrow.

How Storm Bert is set to impact the UK this weekend. Pic: Met Office
Image:
How Storm Bert is set to impact the UK this weekend. Pic: Met Office

Met Office chief meteorologist Matthew Lehnert said: “A northerly airflow will continue to feed snow showers into Scotland over the next few days, with this reaching lower levels at times and bringing the potential for some travel disruption.

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“Overnight temperatures will drop below zero fairly widely over the next few days, which has resulted in some ice warnings, with further warnings likely through this week.”

More than 114 schools are shut in the Highland Council area today due to snow, including Inverness Royal Academy where pupils were told their prelim exams planned for the day would be rescheduled.

Almost 40 schools in Aberdeenshire are also shut while many others had delayed openings, and in Moray around 12 were closed and others opened late.

It comes after more than 100 schools or nurseries were closed in Scotland yesterday because of the weather.

Commuters dressed in warm clothes walk over Westminster Bridge.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Commuters dressed in warm clothes walk over Westminster Bridge.
Pic: Reuters

South of the border, 89 schools were shut in Devon today, 18 in Dorset and 60 in Cornwall, while in Wales around 10 were closed in Conwy, 18 in Denbighshire and two in Wrexham.

As Storm Bert hits the UK, areas where warnings are in place in the south and west are likely to be impacted by heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday.

Between 50-75 mm of rainfall is expected there on the weekend, while Wales and southwest England could see more than 100mm.

There is already a yellow warning for heavy snow on Saturday followed by a “rapid thaw” and rain on Saturday night in northeast and northwest England, the West Midlands, Yorkshire, and much of Scotland.

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Dan Holley, said: “Storm Bert marks a shift to much milder air and wintry hazards will gradually diminish through the weekend, but heavy snowfall is expected across parts of northern England and Scotland for a time on Saturday, especially over higher ground, and warnings are in place.”

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Dylan Thomas found guilty of murdering ‘best friend’ on Christmas Eve in Cardiff

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Dylan Thomas found guilty of murdering 'best friend' on Christmas Eve in Cardiff

A man has been found guilty of murdering his “best friend” on Christmas Eve.

A jury of 10 men and two women heard Dylan Thomas, 24, killed William Bush, 23, in a “frenzied attack” in the Llandaff area of Cardiff last year.

Thomas had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility but denied Mr Bush’s murder.

A trial at Cardiff Crown Court heard Thomas attacked Mr Bush “from behind” in his bedroom after he entered through the kitchen at the property they shared, owned by the defendant’s grandparents.

During the “sustained attack” Mr Bush “fled for his life” down two flights of stairs and onto the patio, the trial heard.

William Bush
Pic:South Wales Police
Image:
William Bush. Pic: South Wales Police

Mr Bush sustained 37 stab wounds in total, including 21 to the neck.

His cause of death was given as “multiple stab wounds to the neck and trunk”.

The defendant, who was wearing a blue t-shirt, attended the hearing via video link from a secure hospital.

The jury returned a unanimous verdict on Thursday afternoon after just over three hours of deliberation.

Thomas, who was suffering from schizophrenia, had initially claimed he was acting in self-defence.

‘Clear thinking’

The court heard how Mr Bush was Thomas’s “only known real friend”.

During the trial, it was also heard how Thomas had been arrested “for trying to climb into Buckingham Palace” some weeks previously.

He also wrote to Elon Musk telling him he believed he had the ability to harness gravity.

The defendant was staying with his grandmother in Rhoose, the Vale of Glamorgan, on the night before the attack.

In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the jury heard Thomas had carried out an online search for the “anatomy of the neck”.

Thomas, who could not drive, enquired about getting an Uber to Tŷ Matthew in Llandaff at 3.31am.

Later that morning, his grandmother agreed to take him to the house after he told her he “wanted to walk the dog” and they left her home in Rhoose at 10.41am.

He had sent several messages to Mr Bush in the hours before the attack in which he said he needed to see him before Mr Bush went home to Brecon to spend Christmas with his family.

The prosecution argued there was “clear thinking on the part of Dylan Thomas”.

“This was a frenzied attack where Mr Thomas could only have had one intention and that was to kill Mr Bush,” said Gregory Bull KC, prosecuting.

Read more from Sky News:
Storm Bert to bring 70mph winds to UK
Banana duct-taped to a wall sells for $6.2m

But the defence argued Mr Bush’s schizophrenia lay “at the centre” of the case.

“He didn’t understand, because he was deluded. He believed, for whatever reason, that his best friend was threatening his life,” said defence barrister Orlando Pownall KC.

Thomas will be sentenced on Monday 16 December.

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