Spring Statement 2019 What Should You Take Away from This Year’S Chancellor’S Announcement?
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GUIDE TO SPRING STATEMENT 2019 WHAT SHOULD YOU TAKE AWAY FROM THIS YEAR’S CHANCELLOR’S ANNOUNCEMENT? Robert Bruce Associates Ltd, 73 St. Leonards Road, Northampton, NN4 8DN Tel: 01604 760 766 Email: [email protected] Web: www.robertbrucefp.com Robert Bruce Associates Ltd (trading as ‘Robert Bruce Financial Planning’) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Reference No: 610277) Company Number: 07749126 (Registered in England and Wales). The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise, and you may not recover the amount of your original investment. SPRING STATEMENT 2019 The Chancellor announced the UK economy continues to grow, with wages increasing and unemployment at historic lows, providing a solid foundation on which to build Britain’s economic future. Welcome Spring Budget 2019 Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, delivered his Spring Statement 2019 to Parliament on 13 March. et against continuing uncertainty over Brexit and just hours set departmental budgets, including three-year budgets for resource before MPs were due to vote on whether to exit the EU without spending, if an EU exit deal is agreed. Ahead of that, the Chancellor Sa deal, Mr Hammond devoted much of his speech to the announced extra funding to tackle serious violence and knife crime, possible efects that leaving the European Union could have on the with £100 million available to police forces in the worst afected areas UK’s fnances. in England and Wales. t The Chancellor announced that the UK economy continues to grow, with wages increasing and unemployment at historic lows, providing a solid foundation on which to build Britain’s economic future. Keeping your fnancial plans on track With borrowing and debt both forecast to be lower in every year In our ‘Guide to Spring Statement 2019’ we reveal the key than at last year’s Budget, the Chancellor set out further investments announcements made by the Chancellor. If you would like to in infrastructure, technology, housing, skills and clean growth, so that review what action you may need to take to keep you, your family the UK can capitalise on the post-EU exit opportunities that lie ahead. and your business on track – or if you have any further questions – The Chancellor also confrmed that the government will hold a please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you. Spending Review which will conclude alongside the Budget. This will 02 SPRING STATEMENT 2019 SPRING STATEMENT 2019 Contents 02 Welcome Spring Statement 2019 04 Spring Statement 2019 Key announcements from the Chancellor at a glance 05 Deal dividend Brexit war chest to boost economy 05 Enterprise Investment Schemes Government to publish approved funds guidelines 06 Fixing the broken housing market Critical to unlocking productivity growth and 04 making properties more afordable 07 Building a stronger, fairer economy Infation expected to stay close to or on target for the duration of the forecast 07 New science and technologies economy Transforming the economy, creating highly skilled jobs and boosting living standards 08 UK open for business and international visitors Improving the fow of passengers and the overall 05 07 experience at the UK border 08 Public fnances reach a turning point Government’s fscal responsibility and the hard work 09 Investment in energy efciency 10 and clean growth ’25 Year Environment Plan’ builds on government commitment 10 Employers’ co-investment 08 rate cut by a half Education and skills to succeed in Spring Statement 2019 the modern economy 10 Financial services and markets post Brexit Update on the overall health of the economy New legislation outlining plans on how to maintain regulatory standards The Spring Statement is an opportunity for the Chancellor to provide an update on the overall health of the economy and the Ofce for Budget Responsibility’s 10 Spending Review to conclude (OBR) forecasts for growth and the public fnances. alongside the Budget Renewed focus on the outcomes achieved It is also an opportunity to update on the progress made since Budget 2018, and for the money invested to launch consultations on possible future changes for the public and business to comment on. The Spring Statement doesn’t include major tax or spending 11 Tackling violent crime changes – these are made once a year at the Budget. £100 million funding for police SPRING STATEMENT 2019 03 SPRING STATEMENT 2019 Spring Statement 2019 Key announcements from the Chancellor at a glance hilip Hammond, the Chancellor of the n £15.4bn headroom in the public fnances Productivity Exchequer, described the economy as that could be used in a no-deal Brexit n Capital budgets set to protect ‘record P‘remarkably robust’ and added that it has increased to £26.6bn levels’ of spending, while ensuring this will ‘defed expectations’, pointing to improvements n No-deal Brexit would cause the economy boost productivity in government fnances, wage growth and to be smaller and weaker in future, leading n Government aims to ‘slay once and for all ‘on target’ infation levels. These are the key to higher prices for consumers the twin demons of low productivity and takeaways from Spring Statement 2019. n No-deal Brexit would mean a ‘short to low wages and build an economy that medium-term reduction in the productive works for everyone’ Growth capacity of the economy’ n Forecast of 1.2% growth for 2019 n Tax and spending responses and Bank of Technology n Then 1.4% in 2020, 1.6% in 2021, 2022 England policy changes could only ever be n Investment packages for laser technology and 2023 temporary to handle a no-deal Brexit, to and nuclear research n In October, growth was forecast at 1.6% for avoid higher levels of infation n Funding for a new supercomputer at 2019, 1.4% for 2020, 1.4% in 2021, 1.5% in Edinburgh University 2022 and 1.6% in 2023 Spending Review n Treasury will conduct a full spending Technology Companies Borrowing review before the summer recess, to be n Government will make technology n Forecast for borrowing to be £3bn lower in concluded before the Autumn Budget companies ‘pay their fair share’ and protect 2018/19 than forecast at the Autumn Budget n There will be a ‘deal dividend’ from lifting consumers from online harm n Borrowing forecast to be £29.3bn in business uncertainty, encouraging frms to n ‘This government will lead the world in 2019/20, then £21.2bn in 2020/21, invest. Government able to spend some of the delivering a digital economy that works £17.6bn in 2021/22, £14.4bn in 2022/23 money left in reserve for a no-deal scenario for everyone’ and £13.5bn in 2023/24 n In October, borrowing was forecast to Global Britain Environment be £25.5bn in 2018/19, then £31.8bn in n From June the government will begin to n ‘Future homes standard’ announced to 2019/20, £26.7bn in 2020/21, £23.8bn in abolish the need for paper landing cards at mandate the end of fossil-fuel heating 2021/22, £20.8bn in 2022/23 and £19.8bn UK points of entry, including airports and systems in all new houses from 2025 in 2023/24 Eurostar terminals, for countries including the n Comprehensive review of the link US, Australia, Canada, South Korea and Japan between biodiversity and the economy Debt n PhD level roles will be completely exempt by Professor Partha Dasgupta from n Debt is forecast to be 82.2% as a share of from visa caps Cambridge University GDP in 2019/20 n Additional £100m to be made available n Debt as a share of GDP is forecast to fall to Housing immediately over the course of the next 79% in 2020/21, 74.9% in 2021/22, 74% in n £3bn in funding announced to help deliver year, ring-fenced to pay for extra police 2022/23 and fnally 73% in 2023/24 30,000 afordable homes overtime targeted specifcally at knife crime n £1bn for small and medium-sized builders n Free sanitary products available in Brexit of homes secondary schools in England from the n Direct message issued to parliament n £117m from the housing infrastructure next school year that building a stronger country was only fund to unlock up to 37,000 new homes in possible by avoiding no-deal Brexit Cheshire, London, Didcot and Cambridge 04 SPRING STATEMENT 2019 SPRING STATEMENT 2019 Deal dividend Brexit war chest to boost economy Enterprise The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, has Investment promised more spending if a no-deal Brexit is avoided and pledged to spend a £26.6bn Brexit war chest to boost the Schemes economy if MPs vote to leave the European Union with a deal. This is almost double the £15.4 billion estimated by the Ofce Government to for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in October. publish approved funds guidelines In his Spring Statement, Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced the government is set to review what funds will be allowed in Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS). The government says it will publish approved funds guidelines for comment on what investments should be allowed in the scheme designed to channel money to start-up companies, alongside draft legislation. It is also set to review why another tax relief scheme to support charities and social enterprise has not found expected he Chancellor used his Spring OBR cut its 2019 growth forecast to 1.2%, popularity with investors. Statement to warn that a disorderly the weakest growth rate since 2009. The Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) TBrexit would deal a ‘signifcant’ blow to That is a signifcant cut from the 1.6% scheme was launched in 2014, and is one economic activity in the short term.