The Chancellor is expected to announce an increase to UK’s minimum wage and a public sector pay rise in his second Budget of the year, after the first one in March.
Along with the Budget, Rishi Sunak will also deliver a spending review, setting UK government departments’ resource and capital budgets for 2022-23 to 2024-25 as well as the devolved administrations’ block grants for the same period.
Beyond the already unveiled measures, there’s plenty of topics on the Government’s agenda. There are many predictions but there are no no major tax announcements anticipated after a 1.25% National Insurance increase was unveiled earlier this year to fund a health and social care levy.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Budget.
What time is the Budget 2021?
Rishi Sunak will be delivering the 2021 Autumn Budget on Wednesday, October 27.
The Budget always takes place after Prime Minister’s Questions, so it will start at around 12.30pm.
The address is expected to last around one hour.
What are the predictions for the Budget?
Many of the measures of this year’s Budget have already been announced. This includes the increase of the National Living Wage by over 50p to £9.50 an hour from April 2022, rises to minimum wage and apprentice rates as well as an end to public sector pay freeze.
Other confirmed measures include:
£7 billion for areas outside of London to “level up” transport
£5 billion for health-related research and development, including towards genome sequencing and tackling health inequalities
£3 billion to drive a “skills revolution”
£1.4 billion fund to funnel money into key innovative sectors and a new talent network to woo foreign talent into UK industries
£850 million to “breathe life” back into cultural hotspots
£700 million for a new fleet of patrol boats for Britain’s borders
£700 million to improve sports and youth clubs
£560 million to provide personalised maths coaching
£500 million towards support for families and children, including new family hubs
£435 million for crime prevention and the Crown Prosecution Service, part of which aims to improve the response to rape and sexual assault cases
£5 million for cutting-edge treatments for veterans
There has also been predictions that the Chancellor may lower the threshold at which graduates start repaying their student loans, which would mean that former students can start to repay their loans sooner, while those already repaying their loan will see their payments increase.
How to watch the Budget?
You can watch Sunak’s delivery via BBC News, accessible online through BBC iPlayer or on Sky News, which also has its own YouTube channel.
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