Yesterday, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak presented the Budget to Parliament. The Budget takes place every financial year and sets out the governments plan for spending in the next financial year.
This is an important Budget that delivers on the promises made during the General Election. I wanted to take this opportunity to set out some of the key aspects of the Budget, and the benefits for people across Tynedale and Ponteland.
Clearly, a key part of this year's Budget has been addressing the challenges we face from Coronavirus. That's why the Chancellor announced a £30bn plan to make sure the NHS gets the resources it needs. It means Statutory Sick Pay will available for all those advised to self-isolate, and the cost will be met by the government for those with less than 250 employees.
Employment and Support Allowance will be available from day 1, a new £500m Hardship Fund will be distributed to Local Authorities to support vulnerable people in their local area, and over the next 12 months, nearly half of all business properties will not pay a penny of business rates. You can read a full breakdown of everything the government is doing to tackle Coronavirus by clicking here.
WATCH: The Budget in 21 seconds
The #Budget2020:Delivering on our manifesto promises to the British people 👇 pic.twitter.com/zWsgIw1boj
— Conservatives (@Conservatives) March 11, 2020
In addition to the funding boost to tackle Coronavirus, there's a whole lot more in the Budget:
🏥 It makes sure the NHS gets the resources it needs, with 50,000 more nurses and 40 new hospitals across the country.
✂️ A tax cut of over £200 for the average family.
💷 It delivers an increase to the National Living Wage to £10.50 an hour to boost the wages of the lowest paid.
🏘️ £9.5bn to build affordable homes.
🎖️ Supporting our amazing veterans. They protect us, so we should help them get a job - so businesses employing veterans will get a one year break from National Insurance contributions.
🛣️ There's £500m a year to fix potholes and speech up journey times.
🌲 40 million trees over the next five years across 30,000 hectares - that's a forest larger than Birmingham.
❄️🍺 Duty on beer, cider, wine and spirts has been frozen!
In addition to all of this, the Tampon Tax will be scrapped, fuel duty is frozen for the tenth year in a row, new legislation to protect access to cash and allow credit unions to offer a wider range of products and services - something which is particularly important in Northumberland. Flood and costal defence spending will be doubled, and the new plastic packaging tax will incentivise the use of recycled plastic.
This is a fantastic Budget from the Chancellor, and I look forward to supporting it when it comes before Parliament.