Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has delivered his Spring Budget.
The key points are:
The economy is expected to contract by 0.2% this year but should avoid a technical recession.
Growth next year is forecast to be 1.8%, followed by 2.5% in 2025; 2.1% in 2026; and 1.9% in 2027.
Inflation is forecast to fall to 2.9% by the end of 2023.
The energy price guarantee will remain at £2,500 for the typical household for the next three months.
Fuel duty will be frozen.
Corporation Tax will be increased from 19% to 25%.
£100m for charities, with £10m for the next 10 years for the voluntary sector to stop families experiencing suicide.
From 1 August the duty on draught products in pubs will be up to 11p lower than the duty in supermarkets.
Defence spending will go up by £11bn over the next five years.
12 new investment zones across UK.
£200m in regeneration projects in England, £400m for levelling up projects, £8.8bn for sustainable transport schemes, £200m for potholes.
Annual Investment Allowance increased to £1m, under which 99% of businesses can deduct the full value of all their investment from that year’s taxable profits.
New tax credit for small and medium-sized firms that spend 40% of their expenditure on R&D.
Extension of tax reliefs for film, TV and video gaming firms.
Nuclear power to be classed as “environmentally sustainable”, subject to consultation, giving it access to the same investment incentives as renewable energy.
£20bn for the early development of carbon capture and storage, supporting up to 50,000 jobs, attracting private sector investment and helping capture 20-30m tonnes of CO2 a year by 2030.
£400m allocated to increase the availability of mental health and musculoskeletal resources for workers.
Annual pensions tax-free allowance extended from £40,000 to £60,000.
Lifetime allowance (currently just over £1m) will be abolished.
30 hours a week of free childcare during term time extended to all children over the age of nine months from 2025 but will only apply to households where both parents are working.
