What has Rishi Sunak said about the Latest Budget?

So today is the announcement of the Budget from the government, but what does that mean?

We at Pie Radio will provide you with easy to digest slices with our summary, in order to help you understand the jargon.

Whilst our other ministers have been verbally battered every day, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has re-emerged to announce the plan for this coming financial year.

Current state of the U.K economy

  • The economy shrank by 10% in all areas, the lowest seen in over 200 years
  • 700,000 people are unemployed since the pandemic began
  • Unemployment is predicted to reach 6.5% of the population
  • To cover the costs of the losses, the government is set to borrow £355bn this year

Furlough and self-employed support

  • Furlough scheme is extended to end of September
  • 80% of wages will be covered by the government, whilst the employers are encouraged to top-up the extra 10-20% 
  • Self employed individuals will be able to apply for additional 4th grant to cover February-April, the 5th grant will cover May

Tax

  • VAT, Income Tax and NI will remain the same 
  • Duty Tax will be frozen on Alcohol for the 2nd year running
  • Duty tax on Fuel will be frozen for the 11th year running

GRANTS

Arts and Sports

  • £400m to help arts venues in England re-open
  • £300m recovery package for professional sport and £25m for grassroots football

Health and welfare

  • £1.65bn to support the UK’s vaccination rollout
  • £19m for domestic violence programmes, funding network of respite rooms for homeless women
  • £40m of new funding for victims of 1960s Thalidomide scandal and lifetime support guarantee
  • £10m to support armed forces veterans with mental health needs

Nations 

  • £1.2bn in funding for the Scottish government, £740m for the Welsh government and £410m for the Northern Ireland executive
  • £1bn Towns Fund fund to promote regeneration in 45 English towns
  • A guaranteed mortgage scheme, for a 5% house deposit, the remaining 95% will be guaranteed by mortgage providers

Businesses

  • £5bn in Restart grants for shops and other businesses forced to close
  • £150m for community groups to take over pubs at risk of closure
  • VAT rate for hospitality firms to be maintained at reduced 5% rate until September
  • £6,000 per premises for non-essential outlets due to re-open in April and £18,000 for gyms, personal care providers and other hospitality and leisure businesses
  • Contactless payment limit will rise to £100 later this year

Summary

In short, a lot of these points are confirmed rumours, i.e. mortgages and furlough extension. It is however, a lot more positive than past Conservative budgets, as it predominantly focuses on lending a helping hand to get everybody who is struggling to get back on their feet.
 
Let’s see what happens and hope there is some growth in the economy by 2022.