11.03.20
Budget 2020: A "new era" for the country
New Chancellor Rishi Sunak has delivered his first Budget today, (Mar 11) less than a month after taking on the role.
Mr Sunak began the Budget speech by addressing the issue of coronavirus with a £30bn “fiscal stimulus”, stating the government is prepared to give the NHS “whatever resources it needs” to cope with Covid-19.
"Whether it's research for a vaccine, recruiting thousands of returning staff, or supporting our brilliant doctors and nurses. Whether it's millions of pounds or billions of pounds. Whatever it needs, whatever it costs, we stand behind our NHS."
Mr Sunak also committed to refunding small businesses with fewer than 250 staff for two weeks of sick payment, starting from day one rather than day four.
He went on to talk about economic growth:
“The OBR have said that, as a direct result of the plans I’m announcing, growth over the next two years will be 0.5 percentage points higher than it otherwise would have been.
“For the benefit of the House, the GDP forecast without fully accounting for the impact of coronavirus would have led to growth of 1.1% in 2020 and 1.8% in 2021, then 1.5%, 1.3%, and 1.4% in the following years.”
Following comments from Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier today that we can expect “an infrastructure revolution”, £600bn will be made available for infrastructure spending over the course of parliament. Included in this is a £27bn strategic investment into roads and motorways and £2.5bn to go on fixing potholes and resurfacing roads.
Mr Sunak has vowed to “get Britain building” and the eight Metro Mayors will receive “London-style funding settlements” with £4.2bn for transport in their regions.
An extra £12bn for the Affordable Homes Programme will go into tackling the housing crisis across the country and related to this, £1bn has been announced for the Building Safety Fund to remove dangerous cladding from high-rise buildings and £650m for rough sleepers.
Public spending and borrowing will still be reviewed with fiscal rules to be confirmed in the Autumn, but with this year’s budget maintaining previous guidelines and the Chancellor committing to the “largest sustained fiscal boost in 30 years.”
Science will be boosted in the UK with a £22bn annual investment into research and development, which has been called the highest for some time, if not the highest ever in Britain, including £1.4bn for the institute at Weybridge, where they’re currently working to analyse samples of coronavirus.
With the climate at the forefront of many councils’ agendas, a £1bn investment for green transport solutions was outlined with £500m to support the rollout of new rapid charging hubs, meaning drivers are never more than 30 miles away from a charging point and a new plastics packing tax introduced from April 2022.
Mr Sunak said:
“Green jobs, better flood defences, cheaper electric vehicles, innovative new technology. We promised to protect our environment, we’re getting it done.”
Responding to the announcement of establishing two or more carbon capture and storage clusters Mayor Ben Houchen said:
“I am delighted that Rishi has announced Teesside will be one of the locations to receive a share of £800m for carbon capture and storage. It shows not only that the Government is taking seriously the clean jobs of the future, but they are realising that Teesside is the best place for them.”
To close the speech Mr Sunak said:
“This is just the start. Over the next few months, we’ll tackle the big issues head on, from our National Infrastructure Strategy to social care and further devolution.”
Photo: House of Commons/PA Wire/PA Images