The government’s major announcements include a significant expansion of free childcare, the retention of the energy price cap, and significant pension and benefit changes. The Conservatives hope that these measures will help the ‘economically inactive’ demographic, which includes over-50s, long-term sick and disabled people, and benefit claimants, find work.
The budget included a significant step in extending the Energy Price Guarantee for another three months. The EPG caps an average household’s annual energy bill at £2,500, and it was set to rise to £3,000 in April. The government, however, has decided to keep it in place until the end of June. The government has also promised to eliminate the additional costs incurred by households using prepayment metres, ensuring that they pay no more than those using direct debits.
The government has also increased the number of hours of funded childcare available to one and two-year-olds, as well as three and four-year-olds, in eligible households where all adults work at least 16 hours per week. According to the Chancellor, this package is worth an average of £6,500 per year for a family with a two-year-old child who uses 35 hours of childcare per week, reducing their childcare costs by nearly 60%.
The Chancellor has launched a new voluntary scheme called Universal Support, which aims to help disabled people find work without fear of losing benefits by providing them with up to £4,000 per year to do so. He went on to say that the Work Capability Assessment would be scrapped and that the government would start separating benefit entitlement from an individual’s ability to work.
The Chancellor has decided to keep the 5p cut in fuel duty for another year, saving the average driver £100 next year and around £200 since it was implemented. The Chancellor has also abolished the lifetime allowance limit on pensions, going further than expected in order to discourage people from retiring early.
The budget also included funding for public leisure centres and pools totalling £63 million to “keep them afloat.” The Chancellor announced that £100 million will be allocated to charities and community organisations. The government would also assist pubs by lowering the duty on draught products as part of a “Brexit pubs guarantee.”
