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Chancellor Rachel Reeves has finally unveiled the budget for 2024. Here are the key points:

This page is being updated, refresh to see more as it’s announced.

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Taxes

• The budget raises taxes by £40bn.

National Insurance contributions for employers (not employees) will increase by 1.2 percentage points to 15% from April 2025.

The point at which employers start paying NI will fall from £9,100 a year to £5,000 a year. This will raise £25bn per year.

• The lower rate of capital gains tax (CGT) on the sale of assets will increase from 10% to 18%. The higher rate will go from 18% to 24%. CGT on the sale of residential property will also increase from 18% to 24%.

Tax thresholds will rise, meaning the point at which people pay higher taxes will be increased. These tax bands had been frozen. But this freeze will end in 2028 and the bands will increase at the rate of inflation.

• The freeze on inheritance tax will continue for a further two years until 2030. This means the first £325,000 can be inherited tax-free, rising to £500,000 if the estate is passed to direct descendants, and £1m if it’s passed to a surviving spouse or civil partner.

• From tomorrow the stamp duty surcharge for second homes, or ‘higher rate for additional dwellings’, will increase by two percentage points to 5%.

Benefits

• Health and employment services for people who are disabled and long-term sick will get £240m in funding.

• The minimum wage for people 21 and over will rise by 6.7% to £12.21 an hour. This is the equivalent of £1,400 a year for a full-time worker. Workers aged 18 to 20 will see their minimum wage increase by 16.3% to £10 an hour.

• People will now be able to earn £10,000 or more while claiming Carers Allowance. This will mean an extra £81.90 for those newly eligible.

• The household support fund will receive £1bn to help those in financial hardship with the cost of essentials.

• A new fair repayment rate will mean Universal Credit claimants who have been accidentally overpaid will only have to pay back 15% of their allowance each month, falling from 25%. This means a gain of around £420 a year for roughly 1.2 million of the poorest households.

• Businesses will get an increase in employment allowance, which will mean 65,000 employers won’t pay any National Insurance at all next year with the allowance growing from £5,000 to £10,500. This will mean more than a million businesses will pay the same or less than they did previously.

Business rates relief will fall from the current 75% down to 45% for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses.

NHS / Health

• The day-to-day NHS budget will increase by £22.6bn. There will also be a further £3.1bn investment in its capital budget.

• This will facilitate 40,000 extra hospital appointments and procedures every week and will include £1.5bn for new hospital beds.

Social care

• Local government will receive funding worth “at least” £600m for social care.

Housing

• An investment of £5bn in housing, which will increase the affordable homes programme to a budget of £3.1bn.

• In addition, £1bn will be spent on the removal of dangerous cladding, implementing the findings of the Grenfell inquiry.

Fuel duty

Fuel duty will be frozen this year and next, with the existing 5p cut maintained.

Alcohol duty

• A cut to draft alcohol duty of 1.7%, which could make drinks cheaper by 1p.

• The tax on tobacco will rise at the rate of inflation plus an additional 2%. There will also be an extra 10% on rolling tobacco.

• There will be a new flat rate duty on all vaping liquid from next October.

Schools / education

• VAT will be introduced on private school fees from January 2025 and business rates relief for private schools will be removed from April 2025.

• Some 500 state schools that are old and not fit for purpose will be rebuilt at a total cost of £1.4bn. There will be an extra £300m for school maintenance each year, which will cover dealing with RAC concerns.

• The budget for free school breakfast clubs will be tripled to £30m, in 2025 and 2026. The core budget for schools will also rise by £2.3bn next year.

• An investment of £300m for further education and £1bn for children with special educational needs (SEN).

Transport

• The HS2 rail link between Old Oak Common in west London and Birmingham has been confirmed. Tunnelling work will also begin on extending the line to London Euston.

• Air passenger duty on private jets will rise by 50%, which is the equivalent of £450 per passenger.

Windfall taxes

• The energy profits levy on oil and gas companies will increase to 38% until March 2030.

Defence

• The annual defence budget will fall below 2.5% of GDP next year – with an increase of £2.9bn for the Ministry of Defence.

• A commitment of £3bn a year for Ukraine for “as long as it takes”.

Economy

Public finances will be in surplus, rather than in deficit, by the 2027-2028 financial year. The government claims this means reaching stability two years earlier than planned.

• The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts UK GDP growth to be 1.1% in 2024, 2.0% in 2025, 1.85% in 2026, 1.5% in 2027, 1.5% in 2028, 1.6% in 2029.

• The OBR expects public sector net borrowing to be £105.6bn in 2025-26, £88.5bn in 2026-27, £72.2bn in 2027-28, £71.9bn in 2028-29 and £70.6bn in 2029-30.

• Consumer price index (CPI) inflation will hit 2.5% this year, according to OBR forecasts. Next year it will rise to 2.6% before falling to 2.3% in 2026, 2.1% in 2027, 2.1% in 2028 and 2% in 2029. It’s the goal of the Treasury to bring inflation down to 2%. The Bank of England has raised interest rates to bring the rate of price rises to 2%.

The Budget

• The price of soft drinks will rise, with an increase to the drinks levy in line with inflation every year. Nearly £1bn a year will be raised thanks to the measure.

• All government departments will have their budgets reduced by 2% next year. This will be achieved by “using technology more effectively and joining up services across government”.

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Post Office scandal: At least 8 convictions may be linked to second IT system used by Post Office

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Post Office scandal: At least 8 convictions may be linked to second IT system used by Post Office

At least eight convictions predating the Horizon Post Office scandal are being looked at by the body investigating potential miscarriages of justice, Sky News has learned.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has confirmed it is examining multiple cases of former sub-postmasters affected by Capture software.

The computer accounting system was used in the early 1990s, prior to Horizon being introduced to Post Office branches from 1999 onwards.

Horizon was at the centre of the Post Office scandal and saw hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly convicted of stealing from their branches.

The Kroll report, commissioned by the government earlier this year, found that Capture had bugs and glitches and there was a reasonable likelihood it had caused cash shortfalls too.

Lord Beamish, the former Labour MP Kevan Jones, has been supporting victims and is calling for the government to extend current legislation to automatically quash convictions.

The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act was passed in May but does not include Capture victims.

More on Post Office Scandal

Lord Beamish told Sky News he has raised the issue with the Justice Secretary and called for a House of Lords debate.

“The government are going to have to take this seriously,” he said. “We can’t have a situation where we have a two-tier system where people get exonerated from Horizon and the Capture cases are either forgotten or have to go through a very lengthy legal process to get their names cleared.”

Chris Roberts whose mother Liz Roberts who was convicted in 1999 of stealing £46,000 from the Post Office and spent 13 months behind bars. Her conviction relates to the use of Post Office Capture software (precursor to Horizon) which is being investigated in connection with potential miscarriages of justice
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Chris claims his mother was wrongly jailed because of accounting problems with the Post Office software Capture

He added he had “little faith” in the CCRC’s “ability to deal with cases”, after multiple Horizon cases were referred to the body years ago.

“The problem with these cases is the lack of evidence… that has been destroyed or lost so actually proving some of these cases through that process will be very difficult.

“Therefore I think a blanket exoneration like we had with Horizon I think has got to be discussed and considered for these cases.”

The CCRC told Sky News it has five cases under review “in which the Capture IT system could be a factor”.

It also said it is “seeking further information” on eight cases referenced in the Kroll report.

Read more:
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Former postmaster says compensation offer is ‘insulting’
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The CCRC added that the time taken for a case review to be completed was dependent on the “complexity” of each case “and how readily available information about it is”. In a statement, it admitted: “The availability of information can be a particular hurdle in older cases.”

Chris Roberts and his mother Liz Roberts who was convicted in 1999 of stealing £46,000 from the Post Office and spent 13 months behind bars. Liz was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease and died in 2024. Her conviction relates to the use of Post Office Capture software (precursor to Horizon) which is being investigated in connection with potential miscarriages of justice
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Chris’s mother died earlier this year following a battle with Alzheimer’s and never got to clear her name

Chris Roberts’ mother, Liz Roberts, was convicted in 1999 of stealing £46,000 from the Post Office and spent 13 months behind bars.

Liz, who was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, passed away earlier this year.

Chris said she was jailed four days before he turned 17, and he used to have “nightmares” that she was “going to die in there”.

“There was no evidence of any financial gain because they went through everything. And obviously the money wasn’t in our accounts because it didn’t exist,” he added.

Despite being offered “three deals” by the Post Office to plead guilty, Liz refused and was sent to prison.

Liz Roberts who was convicted in 1999 of stealing £46,000 from the Post Office and spent 13 months behind bars. Liz was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease and died in 2024. Her conviction relates to the use of Post Office Capture software (precursor to Horizon) which is being investigated in connection with potential miscarriages of justice
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Liz Roberts during happier times before she was jailed for theft – her son insists she was innocent

Chris believes that the 2019 High Court win by Horizon victims was a missed opportunity for the Post Office to look back at Capture cases.

“It would have been worth something then because my mum would have died knowing that everybody else knew she was innocent,” he said.

“My dad would have died knowing that the love of his life wasn’t vilified as a criminal.”

Chris wants his mother exonerated and “those actively responsible” to “stand up in court… and justify themselves”.

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Sky’s Adele Robinson examines Britain’s biggest miscarriages of justice

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: “We were horrified to learn about the issues with the Capture system and are working closely across government to thoroughly examine Kroll’s independent report and consider what action should be taken.

“We continue to listen to postmasters and others who have been sharing their views on the report’s findings since its publication last month.”

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Hooligans face two years in jail as ‘respect orders’ target anti-social behaviour

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Hooligans face two years in jail as 'respect orders' target anti-social behaviour

Hooligans face two years in jail for breaching newly unveiled “respect orders” designed to crack down on anti-social behaviour.

Courts could also hand out unlimited fines, order unpaid work or impose a curfew on those who break the rules.

The measures – set out in Labour’s election manifesto as part of a bid to “return law and order to our streets” – aim to nip the worst behaviour in the bud, the Home Office said.

Too many neighbourhoods are “plagued by anti-social behaviour”, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said, which “can have a devastating impact on victims”.

“This cannot be allowed to continue,” she added.

If the plans – part of a Crime and Policing Bill – pass, councils and police will have the power to ban persistent offenders from town centres, with officers free to arrest anyone breaching their order.

To address the root causes of their behaviour, perpetrators could also be told to attend anger management classes or receive drug and alcohol treatment.

Officers would not need to give a warning before seizing vehicles, a move the Home Office said will help police tackle the “scourge” of off-road bikes in parks and e-scooters on pavements.

The measures will be trialled if the bill passes, before the rules are enforced across England and Wales.

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Harvinder Saimbhi, chief executive of victim support charity ASB Help, said the group welcomes “the approach of addressing the root causes of the anti-social behaviour”.

“We are keen to see how the respect orders will be implemented,” he added.

In the year to September 2023, about a million anti-social behaviour incidents were reported to police.

Deputy Chief Constable Andy Prophet, who leads the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s work on anti-social behaviour, said respect orders will “give the police and councils the ability to crack down on those who persistently make our streets and public spaces feel unsafe”.

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King’s coronation cost to taxpayer revealed in new report

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King's coronation cost to taxpayer revealed in new report

Official accounts have revealed for the first time how much the King’s 2023 coronation cost UK taxpayers.

According to the accounts, the government spent £72m on the coronation – the first in Britain since Queen Elizabeth II’s in 1953.

The figure includes £50.3m of costs attributed to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which coordinated the coronation, and £21.7m in costs for the Home Office for the policing of the event.

By comparison, Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and events during the period of national mourning cost the government an estimated £162m – £74m for the Home Office and £57m for the DCMS as well as costs to the devolved governments.

The figures come from the culture department’s recently released annual report and accounts.

The department said it had “successfully delivered on the central weekend of His Majesty King Charles III’s Coronation, enjoyed by many millions both in the UK and across the globe”.

People walk past a souvenir shop following Britain's King Charles' coronation, in Windsor, Britain, May 8, 2023. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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People walk past a souvenir shop during the coronation. Pic: Reuters

It described the event as a “once-in-a-generation moment” which provided an occasion for the “entire country to come together in celebration”.

Both the King and Queen were crowned at Westminster Abbey in May last year, in a ceremony attended by dignitaries from around the world.

A star-studded concert at Windsor Castle, featuring Take That and stars such as Olly Murs, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, took place the following night.

It had been described ahead of the event as being a “slimmed-down affair” – with the country still in the grips of the cost-of-living crisis – and accounts show an “underspend” related to the coronation of around £2.8m.

Olly Murs performing at the Coronation Concert held in the grounds of Windsor Castle, Berkshire, to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Picture date: Sunday May 7, 2023. Yui Mok/Pool via REUTERS
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Olly Murs performing at the Coronation Concert. Pic: Reuters

Did coronation boost the economy?

Despite talk of a coronation boost, the UK’s economy actually contracted in the month of May 2023.

However, experts said that was mostly due to the cost of the additional public holiday for the event, which weighed on output.

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Each bank holiday costs the UK economy around £2.3bn, with the extra bank holiday for the late Queen’s funeral estimated to have cost around £2.4bn, according to government figures.

With the extra coronation bank holiday, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed negative growth of 0.1% during May 2023.

However, that was slightly better than economists had predicted ahead of the event.

Prior to the event, economic forecasters, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), had predicted a boost of £337m for the UK’s economy due to the coronation – including £104m in extra pub spending and an estimated £223m spend from tourism to the UK during the period.

Hotel revenue was also said to be up by 54% compared to the same point in the previous year, while bookings for UK-bound flights for the coronation weekend jumped by 149% within 24 hours of the day being announced, according to TravelPort.

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