Politics

Pensions, taxes, wages and alcohol duty: The top announcements

Here are some of the main announcements from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement to MPs:

This will be updated as more information comes in…

Chapter head from GFX

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts an average inflation rate of 2.8% by the end of next year and 2% by 2025.

Benefits will increase by 6.7%, the September rate of inflation, as is customary, with the increase coming into effect in April.

The chancellor announced he will increase the local housing allowance rate to the 30th percentile of local market rents, which he says will give 1.6 million households an average of £800 support next year.

pensions

State pension payments are to rise by 8.5% to £221.20 a week, worth almost an extra £900 a year. The triple lock will be “honoured in full”.

All alcohol duty will be frozen until August. That means no increase in duty on beer, cider, wine or spirits.

other

Mr Hunt pledged to provide £7m to tackle antisemitism in schools and universities. To be repeated is a £3m uplift to Jewish organisation Community and Security Trust.

Articles You May Like

Watch Kia’s new EV4 hatch carve up the Nurburgring, nearly on two wheels [Video]
Trump on day one will be ‘like nothing you’ve seen in history’, warns campaign official
FCA chief ‘among applicants’ for cabinet secretary post
Cillian Murphy and wife Yvonne McGuinness buy iconic Irish cinema
Police warning after 13 dangerous dog reports in under 48 hours