What could be announced in Rishi Sunak's Spring Statement

NimbleFins discusses what could be announced in Rishi Sunak's Spring Statement.
Spring Statement: What Will It Include?

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will give his Spring Statement this week to the backdrop of a cost of living crisis.

With food, energy and fuel prices all soaring, Britons will be hoping the so-called 'mini Budget' for lifelines on multiple fronts.

Speaking ahead of the Spring Statement, Mr Sunak said the UK had recovered well from the coronavirus pandemic, but there were other obstacles facing the country. He said: "The fundamentals of our economy are really good because we've recovered well, because of the actions we've taken, but look, the outlook is uncertain because of what's happening in Ukraine."

He admitted that the West's tough sanctions on Russia would hit Britons' back pockets, telling Sky News: "The actions and steps we're taking to sanction Russia are not cost-free for us here at home.

"I can't pretend that it's going to be easy, that government can solve every challenge, or that I can completely protect people against some of the difficult times ahead, but what I can say is where we can make a difference, of course we will."

So what could be in the Spring Statement?

Fuel duty cut

There are suggestions the Chancellor could temporarily cut fuel duty by as much as 5p a litre after pressure across the board.

Drivers currently pay 57.95p in fuel duty for every litre of petrol, diesel, biodiesel and biothanol bought.

Forecourts have been charging an average 165.9p per litre for petrol and 177.3p per litre for diesel. In just three weeks, rates have far surpassed what was branded the "grim milestone" of 150p a litre, thanks in part to the Ukraine invasion.

Speaking ahead of the Spring Statement, Mr Sunak said: "This is one of the biggest bills that people face. We are all seeing that when we are filling up our cars.

"We recognise the importance of people being able to fill their cars up and it not being prohibitively expensive."

National Insurance rise

The Chancellor is under immense pressure to delay or even scrap the 1.25% rise to National Insurance which is coming in to pay for the Health and Social Care Levy.

As previously reported on NimbleFins, the rise will hit businesses as well as employees, and will hit the lowest paid the hardest.

A delay to this tax rise is unlikely to happen.

Mr Sunak told the BBC's Sunday Morning programme: "We're putting in place a new NHS and social care levy because we care about the NHS and we were faced with the, I think, unpalatable and unacceptable situation of millions of people having to wait years to get the treatment that they need, and that wasn't OK when we're recovering from coronavirus and there's a team at the NHS who are prepared to work incredibly hard to help work through that backlog over the next few years.

"I think they deserve and need our support and funding in order to do that."

Click here to read our guide for businesses on how to cut costs to meet the 1.25% National Insurance increase.

National Insurance threshold change

There is speculation the threshold by which National Insurance is paid could be increased to be more in line with income tax.

Currently income tax is paid on earnings above £12,570, but National Insurance kicks in at £9,568.

An uplift to the threshold would soften the blow of the 1.25% NI increase.

Increasing benefits

Calls have been made to increase all working age and pensioner benefits by a further 5% than already planned for 2022/23.

This would deliver "four times more support to the bottom half of the income distribution per pound spent, than scrapping the rise in National Insurance Contributions (NICs)", research by the Resolution Foundation suggests.

However, this is unlikely.

Other household bills help

Already the Government has announced a £150 council tax rebate, plus a controversial £200 energy bill loan which will be given to all households whether they want it or not.

The loan has come under fire as bills are set to rise even higher due to the Ukraine war. This means that the loan repayments will be added on to bills at a time when energy costs will potentially be even higher than they are now.

But more help could be announced in the Spring Statement. It's been reported that Boris Johnson is looking to double the loan to £400, and has asked the Department for Business to look at more ways to help struggling families. It's also been suggested that the loan repayments could be delayed.

Expect the Chancellor to highlight the expansion of eligibility to the Warm Home Discount scheme which was previously announced. The £140 discount on energy bills will be extended by almost a third.

NimbleFins

Our team of writers has expertise in business, car, travel, home and pet insurance as well as personal finance issues.

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