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The UK Autumn Budget 2021, the key points

Rishi Sunak delivers what appears to be a clear message of investment, rather than doom and austerity. The Autumn Budget 2021 follows the aim of Prime Minister Johnson in levelling up the country, with a “new economic model”.

The UK Autumn Budget 2021, the key points

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said his new budget would deliver a stronger economy for British people. People will be given the support they need with the cost of living and levelling up. Rishi Sunak said that while the budget does not draw a line under Covid it does begin the work of building back an economy post-pandemic.

Key Points of the Autumn Budget 2021

Growth
  • Forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility show the economy will grow 6.5& this year. That’s 2% higher than predicted in the March Budget
  • The economy will bounce back to pre-pandemic size by the end of 2021
  • Unemployment forecasted to peak at 5.2%, down from 12% forecast last year
Borrowing
  • Under the Chancellors new ‘fiscal rules’ debt must fall as a percentage of GDP
  • Borrowing in the financial year 2021-22 will be 7.9% of GDP. This was forecasted to be around 10.3% of GDP in March
Spending
  • The Chancellor said there will be real-term rise for every government department
  • Grant funding for local government of £4.8bn
  • Overseas aid, Foreign Aid, will return to 0.7% of GDP by the end of the parliament. After a cut to 0.5% last year during the Covid pandemic
Education
  • Funding for each pupil will return to 2010 levels, worth around £1500 per pupil
  • 30,000 special school placements will be created
  • Support to help children catch up will be almost £5bn
Levelling up
  • A £1.7bn funding grant for towns and cities including Stoke, Leeds, Doncaster and Leicester
Infrastructure
  • Increased investment to support London-style transport across UK cities and regions
  • £21bn on roads and a further £46bn on railways to improve journey times
  • £20bn into R&D by 2024/25
Business taxes
  • Bank surcharge will be cut from 8% to 3%
  • Investment incentives worth up to £750m
  • 50% business rates discount for companies in retail, hospitality and leisure sectors
Cost of living
  • The Chancellor has confirmed the fuel duty increase will be cancelled
  • The national living wage will increase from £8.91 to £9.50 an hour from April