Last week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out the last budget of this Parliament. As expected, he outlined a series of welcome announcements aimed at further controlling inflation rates while ensuring that my constituents could keep more of their hard-earned money. It is through the sensible decisions of the last 18 months that inflation has halved, wages have risen, and debt has fallen. We now have an economy that is outperforming our European neighbours and it has given us room to implement tax cuts.
The most notable measure announced in the Budget was a reduction in the amount paid in National Insurance Contributions. From April, my constituents will see the savings in their pay packets. 27 million working people will save up to £900 a year when combined with cuts made in the Autumn Statement. This is welcome news and there are also provisions to cut taxes for two million self-employed people who will save around £650 a year when compared to this time last year.
This is only one of the measures that the Chancellor announced that will benefit those in Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner. With a freeze on fuel duty and a freeze on alcohol duty, the Chancellor has protected many of my constituents from increasing costs. The average car driver will save £50 this year as the 5p cut and freeze to fuel duty is maintained until March 2025, while pubs, breweries and distilleries will benefit from a further freeze to alcohol duty until February. The freeze on fuel duty is especially welcome for residents who rely on their vehicles for work, travel and for accessing public services and have been impacted by the Mayor’s decision to expand ULEZ last year.
This evening, I had the chance to address a number of measures within the budget that were much welcomed. In particular, I talked about the efforts to increase productivity in the public sector. With the Chancellor’s decision to support the Public Sector Productivity Plan, the NHS among other bodies will receive significant funding increases. The NHS in England will receive a £2.5 billion day-to-day funding boost for 2024/25 and £3.4 billion in capital investment over the forecast period to help unlock £35 billion in productivity savings over the next Parliament. Productivity savings have already benefited private businesses, like Sharman’s Pharmacy in Northwood, and it is right that the public sector looks at using technology in a similar manner.
