Budget 2024 Summary: Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers Labour's first Budget for 14 years - Northern Ireland will receive new growth deals, the Chancellor has said

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivering her Budget to the House of CommonsChancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivering her Budget to the House of Commons
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivering her Budget to the House of Commons
Autumn Budget 2024: As it happened

What the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said as she delivered her first budget

Belfast News Letter Budget Summary

Key Events

  • Regions in Scotland and Northern Ireland will receive new growth deals, the Chancellor has said.
  • Increase in employers’ national insurance contributions by 1.2 percentage points, stating it is “the right choice to make”
  • Government borrowing for this year is expected to reach £127 billion, the Chancellor has said.
  • The Budget “raises taxes” by £40 billion, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said.
  • Reeves pledges ‘more pounds in people’s pockets’ after warnings of tough choices

Regions in Scotland and Northern Ireland will receive new growth deals, the Chancellor has said.

Rachel Reeves told the Commons: “To support growth, including in our rural areas, we will proceed with city and growth deals in Northern Ireland – in Causeway Coast and Glens, and Mid South West. And we will drive growth in Scotland, a key priority for Scottish Labour and our leader Anas Sarwar, including a city and growth deal in Argyll and Bute.

“This Budget provides the devolved governments with the largest real-terms funding settlement since devolution, delivering an additional £3.4 billion for the Scottish Government through the Barnett formula, funding which must now be spent effectively to improve public services in Scotland.”

Turning to Barnett consequentials for Cardiff Bay and Stormont, the Chancellor said: “This budget also provides £1.7 billion to the Welsh Government and £1.5 billion to the Northern Ireland Executive in 2025-26.”

She had earlier announced £25 million for the Welsh Government “next year for the maintenance of coal tips to ensure we keep our communities safe”.

“We’ve heard from our customers – some of the UK’s biggest recruiters – that the increase in employer National Insurance contributions announced in today’s budget is likely to result in a decrease in hiring.

“Employers will need to shoulder the cost and there is a very real worry that it will ultimately hit workers through lower wage growth or less hiring.”

Lee Biggins, chief executive of jobs site CV-Library

The Government is “committing the funding required” to begin tunnelling work to bring HS2 to London Euston station, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced.

UK fuel duty (pence per litre)UK fuel duty (pence per litre)
UK fuel duty (pence per litre) | PA Wire

Rachel Reeves said there would be a “significant real-terms funding increase” for local government next year, noting this included £1.3 billion of additional grant funding to deliver “essential services”.

The Government will not extend the freeze on income tax and national insurance thresholds beyond 2027/28, the Chancellor has announced, saying it would “hurt working people” to keep thresholds frozen.

Fuel duty will be frozen next year at a cost to the Treasury of more than £3 billion, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the Government will renew the tobacco duty escalator for the remainder of the Parliament at RPI (Retail Prices Index) plus 2%, increase duty by a further 10% on hand-rolling tobacco this year and introduce a flat-rate duty on all vaping liquid from October 2026.

Autumn Budget 2024 GDP growth forecastAutumn Budget 2024 GDP growth forecast
Autumn Budget 2024 GDP growth forecast | PA Wire

Waspi (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaigners stage a protest on College Green in Westminster, London, as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivers her Budget in the Houses of ParliamentWaspi (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaigners stage a protest on College Green in Westminster, London, as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivers her Budget in the Houses of Parliament
Waspi (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaigners stage a protest on College Green in Westminster, London, as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivers her Budget in the Houses of Parliament | Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the Government will renew the tobacco duty escalator for the remainder of the Parliament at RPI (Retail Prices Index) plus 2%, increase duty by a further 10% on hand-rolling tobacco this year and introduce a flat-rate duty on all vaping liquid from October 2026.

She added: “Alongside an additional one-off increase in tobacco duty to maintain the incentive to give up smoking.

“And we will increase the soft drinks industry levy to account for inflation since it was introduced, as well as increasing the duty in line with CPI (Consumer Prices Index) each year going forward. These measures will raise nearly £1 billion per year by the end of the forecast period.”

On supporting electric vehicle purchases, Ms Reeves said: “I will maintain incentives for electric vehicles in company car tax from 2028 and increase the differential between fully electric and other vehicles in the first year rates of vehicle excise duty from April 2025.

“These measures will raise around £400 million by the end of the forecast period.”

Draught duty on alcoholic drinks will fall by 1.7%, meaning “a penny off a pint in the pub”, the Chancellor has announced.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced she will continue the freeze on fuel duty next year and maintain the existing 5p cut as she said that increasing it “would be the wrong choice”.

Employers’ national insurance contributions will rise by 1.2 percentage points to 15% in April 2025, and the threshold for paying them will fall from £9,100 per year to £5,000, the Chancellor has announced

On the Carer’s Allowance, Rachel Reeves said: “Carer’s allowance currently provides up to £81.90 per week to those with additional caring responsibilities.

“Today, I can confirm that we are increasing the weekly earnings limit to the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage per week, the largest increase since Carer’s Allowance was introduced in 1976.

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