Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his spring budget earlier this month, revealing a range of tax cuts and new measures to tweak the economy. There’s lots of focus around what it might mean for the election. But what does it mean for you, and your ability to get by from day to day? We’ve broken it down for you – from national insurance cuts to a ‘stealth tax’ making you poorer
By Greg Barradale
Spring budget 2024
The ‘lifeline’ household support fund
Jeremy Hunt announced a six-month extension to the household support fund (HSF). It was introduced in October 2021 as a stopgap measure to help families afford essentials during the winter. But quickly the HSF became institutionalised, making up around two-thirds of all local welfare assistance.
“The household support fund has become indispensable to local communities. It has reduced the need for food bank services and has provided the resources for frontline providers to distribute vouchers and other support,” said Sabine Goodwin, director of the Independent Food Aid Network.
“Extending the HSF is far from the solution to the UK’s policy-driven poverty crisis, but it will certainly go some way to temporarily help food-insecure households as well as food banks to get through the next few months. Its removal in October would be ill-conceived and extremely damaging. We hope this six-month extension is the first step towards ensuring crisis support is permanently in place, well funded, well promoted and easily accessible.”
Increased repayment periods for household emergency loans
The soaring cost of living is pushing families into debt. Hunt announced an increase in the repayment period for new loans, from 12 months to 24 months.
He has also abolished the £90 fee for debt relief orders.
We’re going to get poorer
The big economic acronym you’ll hear is GDP (gross domestic product). It’s GDP falling that puts the economy in a recession, and it’s GDP politicians talk about when referring to ‘growth’. But GDP per capita is arguably more important. This is, roughly, a measure of how much money the country has per person. It’s a good measure of how well-off people feel. The bad news is, by this measure, we’re going to be poorer in 2028 than we were last autumn, according to a new forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility.
You can earn more before paying child benefit tax charges
Hunt increased the amount at which those in receipt of
