Today, the Chancellor laid out his budget. I know that things have been tough over the past few years, and while there is still more we need to do, we have turned a corner in our plan to get our economy back on track. Inflation has fallen from 11% to 4%, debt is falling, wages are rising and we are outperforming many of our European neighbours.
Highlights from today's Budget:
• Last year, the Government cut your National Insurance from 12% to 10%. Today, we're cutting it again to 8%.
• This is a tax cut for 27 million people, meaning someone on £25k is saving an additional £500 a year!
• Extending child benefit to make sure that every household that needs it, can have it and eliminating the tax trap for families.
• Extending the Alcohol duty freeze – backing pubs and keeping pints cheap.
• Freezing fuel duty for another year – saving the average car driver £50. Great news in areas like Newcastle where a car is a necessity not a luxury.
• Increasing VAT registration to £90,000 supporting small businesses and helping them grow.
• Extending the Household Support Fund - helping those most in need, something I raised the need for as DWP Whip.
• Getting people back to work – helping parents, pensioners, and those with long term-illness back into work when they want to.
• Supporting our NHS with an extra £2.45bn on top of £3.4bn to improve productivity, slashing lost hours and freeing up more appointments and surgeries.
• Reforming the tax system - ensuring those with the broadest shoulders contribute the most.
• Bringing down crime – funding for violent crimes and hotspot policing, as well allowing video calling to report crimes.
• 175 new Special Free Schools – to bring the right education for SEN children to where it is needed.
• Keeping taxes on energy companies' windfall profits – making sure those who make exceptionally high profits share it with the rest of the UK.