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This year’s Autumn Budget was announced today (27 October 2021), which outlined the next steps of the UK’s Covid-19 economic recovery.

Here’s a summary of the main points mentioned in the Chancellor’s speech:

Taxation and wages

  • National Living Wage is set to increase next year by 6.6%, to £9.50 an hour
  • The Universal Credit taper rate will be cut by 8% no later than 1 December, bringing it down from 63% to 55% – allowing claimants to keep more of the payment
  • Business rates will be retained and reformed
  • A 50% business rates discount rate will be introduced for the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors in England in 2022-23 (up to a maximum of £110,000)
  • The planned rise in fuel duty is going to be cancelled amid the highest pump prices in eight years

Housing

  • £24bn has been earmarked for housing
  • 4% levy will be placed on property developers with profits over £25m rate to help create a £5bn fund to remove unsafe cladding
  • £640m a year to address rough sleeping and homelessness

Other pledges made during the Budget

  • Contactless payment limit will increase to £100 in a bid to boost retailers
  • £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

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