Budget: At-a-glance guide to the main points

Last updated Mar 3, 2021

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has delivered his 2021 spring Budget to the House of Commons. Here are the main points:

Public finances

UK economy shrank by 10% in 2020
Economy forecast to rebound in 2021, with projected annual growth of 4% this year
Economy forecast to return to pre-COVID levels by middle of 2022, with growth of 7.3% next year
700,000 people have lost their jobs since pandemic began
Unemployment expected to peak at 6.5% next year, lower than 11.9% previously predicted
UK to borrow a peacetime record of £355bn this year.
Borrowing to total £234bn in 2021-22

COVID-19 support

Furlough to be extended until the end of September
Government to continue paying 80% of employees’ wages for hours they cannot work
Employers to be asked to contribute 10% in July and 20% in August and September
Support for the self-employed also to be extended until September
600,000 more self-employed people will be eligible for help as access to grants is widened
£20 uplift in Universal Credit worth £1,000 a year to be extended for another six months
Working Tax Credit claimants will get £500 one-off payment
Minimum wage to increase to £8.91 an hour from April

Business, digital and science

Tax breaks for firms to “unlock” £20bn worth of business investment
Firms will be able “deduct” investment costs from tax bills, reducing taxable profits by 130%
Incentive grants for apprenticeships to rise to £3,000 and £126m for traineeships
VAT rate for hospitality firms to be maintained at reduced 5% rate until September
Interim 12.5% rate to apply for the following six months
Business rates holiday for firms in England to continue until June with 75% discount after that
£5bn in Restart grants for shops and other businesses forced to close
£6,000 per premises for non-essential outlets due to re-open in April and £18,000 for gyms, personal care providers and other hospitality and leisure businesses
New visa scheme to help start-ups and rapidly growing tech firms source talent from overseas
Contactless payment limit will rise to £100 later this year

Environment, transport, infrastructure and housing

New UK Infrastructure Bank to be set up in Leeds
It will have £12bn in capital, with aim of funding £40bn worth of public and private projects
£15bn in green bonds, including for retail investors, to help finance the transition to net zero by 2050

Nations and regions

£1.2bn in funding for the Scottish government, £740m for the Welsh government and £410m for the Northern Ireland executive
750 UK civil servants to be relocated to new Treasury campus in Darlington
£1bn Towns Fund fund to promote regeneration in 45 English towns
£150m for community groups to take over pubs at risk of closure
First eight sites for freeports in England announced

Tax

No changes to rates of income tax, national insurance or VAT
Personal income tax allowance to be frozen at £12,570 from April 2022 to 2026
Higher rate income tax threshold to be frozen at £50,270 from 2022 to 2026
Corporation tax on company profits to rise from 19% to 25% in April 2023
Rate to be kept at 19% for about 1.5m smaller companies with profits of less than £50,000
Stamp duty holiday on house purchases in England and Northern Ireland extended to June, with no tax liability on sales of less than £500,000
No changes to inheritance tax or lifetime pension allowance or capital gains tax allowances

Health and education

£1.65bn to support the UK’s vaccination rollout
£19m for domestic violence programmes, funding network of respite rooms for homeless women
£40m of new funding for victims of 1960s Thalidomide scandal and lifetime support guarantee
£10m to support armed forces veterans with mental health needs

The arts and sport

Alcohol, tobacco and fuel

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