Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will deliver his first Spring Budget on Wednesday, as the cost of living crisis rages on in the UK.
The Mirror reports that the Spring Budget will be delivered on Wednesday, March 15 at 12:30pm. The Autumn Statement was delivered in November 2022, and was delivered as the country recovered from the economic chaos caused while Liz Truss was in the hot seat.
The financial markets have since quelled after the Autumn Statement, and the future is looking a little more positive for money experts.
Jeremy Hunt is expected to focus on encouraging those with disabilities, over-50's and long-term sick employees back into constant work, and doesn't expect to slash taxes for anyone.
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The details of the Budget is never fully confirmed by the Treasury, until the Budget statement is being read out by the Chancellor in the House of Commons.
But there’s always a mix of speculation and pre-announced measures in the run-up to the big day. Read on below to find out more about what could be expected in the Spring Budget on Wednesday.
Energy bill support extended further
Jeremy Hunt is expected to delay the ending of the energy bill support provided by the government, as he plans to extend it for a further three months.
The Energy Price Guarantee was due to rise from its current level of £2,500-a-year for a typical household to £3,000 in April.
However, the Chancellor is now expected to pause this 20 per cent rise until the summer in the UK - when wholesale gas costs are expected to fall.
It is understood that energy suppliers have been asked to prepare for the move.
Pre-payment meter help
Alongside the energy bill support help, support has also been announced for those who are on pre-payment meters.
Currently, pre-payment customers pay more on average than those who pay through direct debit due to firms managing these payments, and then passing on the cost.
From July 2023, prepay customers will no longer pay more than direct debit households, in a move the Treasury says will save households £45 a year.
The Chancellor has called the current practice as "unfair", and vows that the government will "put an end" to it.
Jeremy said: "From July four million households won't pay more than those on Direct Debits.
"We've already cut energy bills by almost half this winter, and this latest reform is proof again that we're always on the side of families."
Corporation Tax
Business tax is set to rise form 19 per cent to 25 per cent this April - an announcement that was made by the former Chancellor Rishi Sunak in 2021.
However, Liz Truss reversed this announcement when her authority began to fail in October 2022 - and now, Jeremy Hunt is expected to go ahead with it.
The corporation tax super-deduction will also end this month, which lets big businesses cut their tax bill by 25p for every £1 they invest.
Fuel duty freeze
And Jeremy Hunt may end a 12-year fuel freeze tomorrow - which would spark a whole load of anger among millions.
The Chancellor is also under pressure to keep a 5p-per-litre cut, which was announced a year ago, in place.
If he lifts both the cut and the freeze, drivers will end up paying around 12p-per-litre extra - so it is unlikely this will happen.
Critics warn that hitting motorists at the pump will pile misery across all sectors of the economy, and the Chancellor will be keen not to do that. AA president Edmund King said: "Drivers are out of the hurricane, but are still being lashed by the cost-of-living storm.
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“It would be detrimental to put unnecessary strain on people by increasing fuel duty. Most goods and services are transported by road, so waving through higher pump prices onto logistics firms as well as the driving public will hurt everyone.
“Our message to the Chancellor is that hiking fuel duty will simply fuel inflation, so it is imperative that he keeps the fuel duty freeze for another year.”
Alcohol and cigarette duty rates
Currently, there are duty rates added to alcohol, including beer, spirits, wine and cider. There are different rates for each of the drinks named above.
And now, a new system - with drinks being taxed on how much alcohol they contain - is set to be introduced in the summer. However, the exact amount is yet to be unveiled by the Treasury.
New reports have suggested that the price of a 20 pack of cigarettes will rise by £1.15 - in line with the Retail Price Index - at the Budget.
Currently, the duty paid on cigarettes is 16.5 per cent of the retail price - plus an extra £5.26 on a packet of 20. The duty paid on cigarettes tends to rise alongside inflation - unless the Chancellor intervenes.
'Back-to-work budget'
Jeremy Hunt is also planning to unveil a 'back-to-work' Budget for the UK. The rising number of people signed off as long-term sick is a worry for the Treasury.
New data suggests that there are as many as 2.5 million people signed off work due to long-term sickness, physical or otherwise.
it is expected that benefit claimants will be "encouraged" to move into work or increase their hours as a result of a Universal Credit shakeup.
People will be expected to attend more meetings with their work coach, as skills bootcamps" will be expanded and the Work Capability Assessment will be scrapped.
The Chancellor could also choose to announce that people who return to work part-time will be able to continue claiming sickness benefit.
Childcare support
Another way the Treasury will tackle people out of work, is support the childcare issues people are suffering.
The Chancellor is expected to announce that those on Universal Credit will be able to claim more money for childcare.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says that to account for rising costs, the amount parents can claim would rise to £1,200 for one child - up from £646 - or £2,000 for two, rising from £1,108.
New reports have also noted that Universal Credit claimants will get money for childcare in advance now, instead of waiting for payments.
Public sector pay
The Government has come in for a huge amount of criticism over its handling of public sector walkouts.
Teachers, NHS staff and civil servants have all taken part in industrial action over the last few months - and the Government has said existing department budgets only allow for a 3.5 per cent public sector pay rise.
However, it is expected that the Chancellor is planning to trump up a better pay rise. It is reported that bringing this up to five per cent could cost the Treasury an additional £4 billion.
Pensions
Earlier in 2023, reports had claimed that the Government was considering raising the retirement age from 66 to 68 - as early as 2035. The current retirement age is 66 and will increase to 67 in 2028.
However, the scheduled rise to 68 isn't expected until 2046 - but the Chancellor ordered a review of the state pension age last year.
Cleaner energy
Jeremy Hunt is planning to pledge a £1 billion-a-year into technology that can help deal with carbon emissions.
Set to be billed as a “clean energy reset” at the Budget, the Treasury said it would help to create up to 50,000 highly skilled jobs.
The Government has described the investment package - worth £20 billion made available over 20 years - as "unprecedented".
The Government also promised to “rapidly” announce the winners of a competition to build small nuclear power plants in the UK.
Defence spending
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that he would boost the UK's defence budget by £5 billion in the Spring Budget.
This is less than half of what Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has demanded, however, as he stresses the defence budget is in need of more money.
The Prime Minister said: "The UK is increasing its ambitions when it comes to defence spending.
"If you look at the track record, when I was Chancellor we announced the biggest uplift in defence spending since the end of the Cold War, that’s something actually I worked on with the Defence Secretary.
"What we are announcing today builds on that.”
Rishi Sunak will also set out an ambition to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP in the “longer term”, which will be discussed with international allies this summer, as reported by Downing Street.
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