Jeremy Hunt unveiled his Autumn Statement on Wednesday, with a series of tax and spending moves he said would “help grow the British economy”.
The chancellor’s measures included a cuts in national insurance payments, an increase the state pension and benefits, but it comes as growth forecasts have been downgraded.
Here are some of the key announcements and what they mean for you.
Growth
GDP is stronger than expected this year, allowing Hunt to strike a bullish tone in his statement. But looking ahead things appear to be less rosy, as the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has downgraded its future growth forecasts compared to the ones it made in March.
Taxes
National Insurance has been cut from 12% to 10%. It means someone on the average salary of £35,000 will save over £450 per year. The change will also be brought in from January 6, rather than in April.
The self-employed will also have their national insurance payments cut. Those earning more than £12,570 will no longer have to pay the Class 2 flat rate compulsory charge of £3.45 a week. They currently also pay Class 4 National Insurance at 9% on all earnings between £12,570 and £50,270. This will be cut by to 8% from April. Hunt said combined the two measures will save around two million self-employed people an average of £350 a year.
Wages
The minimum wage - known as the National Living Wage - will increase from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour from April next year. It has previously applied for workers over 23, but will now be expanded to include 21 and 22-year-olds. A 23-year-old full time worker will see a £1,800 annual increase, while a 21-year-old will get a £2,300 hike.
Benefits
Universal Credit and other benefits will be increased by 6.7% from next April in line with September’s inflation figure - an average increase of £470 for 5.5m households next year. It had been suggested the government could try and save money by pegging the increase to the lower October inflation figure of 4.6%.
The Local Housing Allowance will be increased to cover the lower 30% of rents. It is due to give 1.6 million households an average of £800 of support next year.
But there will also be a crackdown on the number of people receiving benefits. Under new rules if decided “not to engage” with the work search process for six months, their benefits will be stopped. Hunt said this was forecast to increase the number of people in work by around 200,000.
Pensions
The state pension will be increased by 8.5% to £221.20 a week - worth up to £900 more a year. The triple lock means the state pension increases each year in line with whichever is the highest – average earnings, inflation the previous September or 2.5%. As with benefits, it had been suggested it could be increased by a lower amount.
Beer and wine
Alcohol duty will be frozen until August, 2024. It means no increase in duty on beer, cider, wine or spirits. The government’s Brexit Pubs Guarantee also means duty on a pint is always lower than in the shops.