11.59: It has been trailed as the first Conservative budget for almost twenty years and thePipeLine will be covering all the news from Chancellor George Osborne’s Summer Budget, reactions to the Chancellor’s decisions and analysing how the Chancellor’s decisions impact on the archaeology and heritage sector and those who work in it.
One immediate comment, well sourced briefings to various media outlets suggest the chancellor will be increasing the debt burden on students by converting maintenance grants for students from lower income households to loans.
12.17: PMQ’s in full swing, Cameron jokes there is not much else on today.
12.35: Osborne on his feet.
He says it is a budget which puts security first, it will be a budget for working people.
A one nation budget…for the whole United Kingdom.
A Conservative budget because the people trusted the Conservatives to run the economy.
A budget with big ambitions- we shall see
12.39: Osborne commits to cutting the deficit at the same rate as the last Parliament. Osborne predicts Government asset sales will bring in more cash than the privatisations of 1987.
12.49: Public sector pay limited to 1% rise for the next four years.
Cuts to come but not as severe as 2011-2012 and 2012-2013.
Departmental cuts to be announced in the Autumn.
13.01: Osborne commits to new roads.
13.02: University sector: from 2016-2017, maintenance grants replaced by loans for new students. Tuition fees to rise in line with inflation.
13.08: Manchester to get a Land Commission, possibly also other large cities such as Liverpool.
13.13: Further planning “reforms” to be announced on Friday
13.26: Non statutory working age benefits frozen for four years.
13.33: Tax free personal allowance rises to £11k next year and the upper rate threshold rises to £43k also next year.
13.38: National Living Wage introduced from next year starting at £7.20
14.23: The small print of the Government and Office of Budget Responsibility [OBR] documents is becoming clearer.
Osborne is to increase spending by £83 billion.
“The new Government has used its first Budget to loosen significantly the impending squeeze on public services spending that had been pencilled in by the Coalition in March. This is being financed by welfare cuts, net tax increases and three years of higher government borrowing. The Government has delayed the expected return to a budget surplus by a year to 2019-20, but is then aiming for a slightly bigger surplus in the medium term.”
http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/July-2015-EFO-234224.pdf
Public spending faces further cuts and spending will be based on priorities such as promoting growth the Government says
1.73 The government has already identified a further £3 billion of departmental savings in
2015-16.39 The departmental savings have been achieved through efficiency savings, tighter
control of budgets to drive underspends in-year, and through asset sales.
1.74 The government will set out how the remaining consolidation will be delivered in the
autumn following a rigorous Spending Review process.
1.75 The Spending Review will look at all elements of public spending in order to create a
more efficient public sector, whilst continuing to prioritise growth-promoting expenditure and
spending on public services for those who need them the most.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443232/50325_Summer_Budget_15_Web_Accessible.pdf
14.32: The Manchester Land Commission will have the effect of “granting the city region more powers over planning subject to the agreement of the Cabinet member representing the district in which the power is used…”
15.51: We’ve spotted a mention of a museum!
“London is a leading global city of culture and the government is supportive of the Museum of London’s ambition to move from London Wall to Smithfield General Market. The GLA has already supported the Museum of London with funding for an architectural competition to support this move.”
16.15: This could get interesting for metal detectorists flogging stuff on E-bay: from 2016 HMRC might be after you…
“2.172 Tackling the hidden economy – The government will extend HMRC’s powers to acquire data from online intermediaries and electronic payment providers to find those operating in the hidden economy. We will legislate at Finance Bill 2016 to achieve this, following a consultation on the detail. We will invest in new HMRC investigators from 2016 to exploit this data. The government will also create a digital disclosure channel which makes it simple for taxpayers to disclose unpaid tax liabilities. (Finance Bill 2016)”
17.14: The Heritage Alliance has responded to today’s budget statement.
“In the run up to the Autumn Spending Review, The Heritage Alliance will be making the case, through every means possible, that planning, heritage protection and historic environment services, together with the capacity of communities to shape and care for their environment, are not singled out as a soft targets for further efficiencies given the huge benefits – economic,
social, environmental and cultural – our heritage brings to the country.”
http://www.theheritagealliance.org.uk/tha-website/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/THA-Statement-on-Budget-8-7-152.pdf
That is all for thePipeLine’s rolling coverage of the 8 July UK Budget Statement. We will be following the strands of the budget and the spending review as the stories develop.
If you have a personal experience as to how the budget announcements will effect you, or the company or organisation you work for, [good or bad] please tell thePipeLine.
