The Spring Statement announced today

I have just listened to the Chancellor of the Exchequer deliver his Spring Statement today. He quite rightly says that we must support our friends in the Ukraine, and I welcome the £400m of aid that the UK has spent.

 

We cannot forget that the only way we can support our Ukrainian friends is when we are economically stable here in the UK, and I welcome the steps the Chancellor is taking to ensure this. We will all understand that it is too early to know the full impact that the Russian invasion of the Ukraine will cost the UK.

This cost will impact us all, and it is right that the Chancellor has taken steps to help reduce the cost of living here in the UK.

 

I welcome the new Tax Plan that seeks to reduce and reform taxes over the rest of this Parliament. This will help families with the cost of living, create the conditions needed for private sector growth, and will ensure that proceeds of growth are shared fairly.

 

The key announcements made by the Chancellor are that we will:

 

• Cut Fuel Duty by 5p per litre from 6pm tonight. This equates to a £5 billion tax cut, and is the largest fuel duty cut ever.
• Cut National Insurance meaning 30 million working people across the UK from July will keep an additional £330 per year. This equates to 70% of working people paying less tax even after the levy.
• Cutting basic rate of Income Tax to 19p in the pound from 2024. This is the first Income Tax cut for 16 years. This equates to a £5 billion tax cut for over 300 million workers, savers and pensioners.
• Cutting VAT on energy saving materials such as solar panels- a cut only made possible because of Brexit!
• Doubling the Household Support Fund to £1 billion for councils to distribute and support the most vulnerable households.
• Creating conditions for private sector-led growth through the Autumn Budget tax cuts on business capital investment and R&D.

 

This plan will deliver the biggest net cut to personal taxes in over a quarter of a century. Plain and simple, that leaves more money in people’s pockets in north Norwich.

 

I welcome these announcements, and I know that many in Norwich North will welcome them too, because they will bring relief to those who need it most, whilst ensuring that hard work pays.

 

I will provide further detailed information on specific announcements over the coming days.