Table of contents
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is delivering her long-awaited budget – the first Labour Budget for 14 years. 

We’ll provide critical updates as and when they’re announced.

You can watch here if you require British Sign Language coverage. 

National Minimum Wage

National minimum wage to rise by 6.7% from April, Reeves confirms.

From next April (2025), the National Living Wage for people aged 21 or older will rise by 6.7% from £11.44 an hour to £12.21.

It will rise from £8.60 to £10 for people aged between 18 and 20-years old.

Apprentices will get the biggest pay bump, with hourly pay increasing from £6.40 to £7.55.

Income Tax

The government will update personal tax thresholds on income tax and national insurance in line with inflation from 2028-29.

National Insurance

National Insurance to rise to 15% for employers

Employers’ National Insurance contributions will rise from 13.8% to 15% – an increase of 1.2%.

The threshold at which businesses start paying National Insurance on a workers’ earnings will be lowered from £9,100 to £5,000

Inflation

The chancellor will maintain the Bank of England’s 2% target for inflation.

Inflation will average 2.5% in 2024, rising to 2.6% in 2025, before gradually dropping to 2% in 2029, according to forecasts.

Inflation was at 1.7% in September, below the Bank of England’s 2% target, and down from 11% in October 2022.

Energy

A £3.4bn warm homes plan to upgrade buildings and lower energy bills, has been announced.

The government will fund Great British Energy, a new body to be based in Aberdeen.

Education

The schools budget will increase by £2.3bn to support the hiring of teachers.

There will be another £300m for higher education.

Reeves announces a £1bn uplift in funding for special needs.

VAT to be brought in on private school fees from January 2025.

Transport and fuel duty

Government will fund tunnelling of HS2 to London Euston.

There will be a £500m increase in the roads budget next year to target potholes.

Fuel duty freeze to be extended for a year and maintains the last government’s 5p cut.

A £3 bus fare cap will be extended for a further year, to December 2025. This has risen from £2 for a single trip fare.

Housing

The government will spend £5bn on housing, including increasing the supply of affordable housing.

The government will reduce right-to-buy discounts, and local governments will retain the earnings from council housing sales to allow them to reinvest. Also, “hundreds of new planning officers” will accelerate housebuilding.

Tobacco and alcohol

The government will implement a levy on vapes, which will be increased in line with tobacco.

A cut in draught duty by 1.7%, was also announced, which is “a penny off a pint in the pub.”

NHS

A 10-year plan for the NHS, announced in the spring, targets 2% productivity growth next year.

A £22.6bn increase in the day-to-day health budget and a £3.1bn increase in the capital budget have also been announced. That includes £1bn for repairs and upgrades and £1.5bn for new beds in hospitals and testing capacity.