A revolution in childcare, a £27 billion tax cut for business and a trio of freezes to help families with the cost-of-living headlined the Chancellor’s Spring Budget today
- Extending 30 hours of childcare a week to all working parents of children aged 9 months to 4 years
- Paying Universal Credit childcare costs up front rather than in arrears
- Extension of the Energy Price Guarantee, the typical family will save £160 on their energy bill
- Fuel duty will be frozen, saving the average driver £200
- Establishing a new Universal Support programme for disabled people and the long-term sick
- Delivering a Brexit Pub Guarantee so draught duty will always be less than duty in supermarket, supporting our local pubs and bars
Leo Docherty MP has welcomed the continued support for families across the Aldershot constituency, as the Government's Spring Budget extends the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) at £2,500, and the amount of cost-of-living support in place between 2022/24 has reached £94 billion – an average of £3,300 per household.
The Chancellor also announced the end to the premium paid by over four million households using pre-payment meters across the UK. This will be achieved through adjusting the EPG from the 1 July to bring pre-payment metered customers in line with the EPG until it ends in April 2024.
Fuel duty will also be frozen for a thirteenth consecutive year, saving the average driver around £200 since the 5p cut was introduced.
These support measures all come as the Government aim to achieve long-term, sustainable economic growth by encouraging a return to the workforces, and rewarding business for every single pound they invest by cutting their taxes by up to 25p. A major set of reforms will help to support people re-enter the workplace, by removing barriers that stop those on benefits, older workers, and those with health conditions who want to work from working.
Through reforming childcare, this will help allow nearly half a million parents with a child under 3 in England return to work. Parents will be able to benefit from 30 hours of free childcare for every child over the age of 9 months, with support being phased in until every single eligible working parent of under 5s gets this support by September 2025. The Government will also pay the childcare costs of parents on Universal Credit moving into work or increasing their hours upfront, rather than in arrears – removing a major barrier to work for those who are on benefits. The maximum they can claim will also be boosted to £951 for one child and £1,630 for two children – an increase of around 50%.
Schools and local authorities will also be funded to increase the supply of wraparound care, so that parents of school age children can drop their children off between 8am and 6pm – tackling the barriers to working caused by limited availability of wraparound care.
Commenting, Leo said:
"This Budget aims to tackle the two biggest issues the UK economy must overcome to grow - getting investment into our economy and filling one million job vacancies.
"The measures announced by the Chancellor today will help families deal with household costs, as the Government aims to deliver on its promises to halve inflation, grow the economy and reduce debt - improving living standards for everyone."
Leo pictured by the Wellington Statue