Everys Solicitors
Budget 2018 Summary

Budget 2018 Summary

The first Autumn Budget to be delivered on a Monday since 1962. Philip Hammond began his speech with a promise of ‘a Budget for Britain’s future’.

Below is outline of the Budget announcements:

  • Increasing funding to help department prepare for Brexit to over £4 billion
  • £20.5 billion more for the NHS by 2023-24
  • Increasing mental health funding by more than £2 billion a year by 2023-24
  • £650 million for social care funding next year
  • £1 billion extra for defence over the next 2 years
  • An additional £160 million of Counter Terrorism Police funding for 2019-20
  • Up to £19 million to commemorate the Centenary of the WWI Armistice
  • £10 million for air ambulance services in England
  • £400 million extra for schools this year
  • £30 billion to improve roads, including £420 million to Local Highway Authorities (tackle potholes, bridge repairs and other minor works).
  • £1.6 billion to fund advanced technologies like nuclear fusion and quantum computing
  • Increasing the Annual Investment Allowance to £1 million (from 1 Jan 2019 – 31 Dec 2020)
  • Increasing UK Export Finance’s direct lending facility by up to £2 billion
  • Digital tech giants will be taxed 2% on the money they make from UK users
  • £1.5 billion to support local high streets (including 1/3 off business rates for small retailers)
  • £5.5 billion for the Housing Infrastructure Fund (to support the building of 650,000 new homes)
  • £950 million more for the Scottish Government (£150 million for a Tay Cities Deal)
  • £550 million more for the Welsh Government
  • £320 million more for a Northern Ireland Executive
  • £12 million over the next 3 years for cutting edge fisheries technology and safety
  • Consulting on a plastic packaging tax for April 2022
  • Freezing fuel duty for the ninth year in a row (saving the average driver £1,000 since 2010)
  • Freezing duty on beer, cider and spirits
  • Air Passenger Duty on short-haul flights will not rise
  • A new Railcard for all young people aged 26-30 by the end of this year
  • Increasing all existing Universal Credit work allowances by £1,000 a year, and supporting claimants moving onto Universal Credit
  • The National Living Wage rises to £8.21 per hour from April 2019
  • Increasing the tax-free personal allowance to £12,500 in April 2019
  • Increasing the higher rate threshold for income tax to £50,000 in April 2019 (1 million fewer people will pay the higher rate than in 2015/16
  • New commemorative 50p Brexit coin from Spring 2019

For more information visit – https://www.gov.uk/government/news/budget-2018-24-things-you-need-to-know