The Chancellor has set out his Budget today and I thought it would be useful to summarise the key measures that may affect you and others in our area. I have also put a much more detailed summary on my website: www.nickymorgan.org/campaigns/what-summer-budget-means-loughboroughThe Budget today was a continuation of the Chancellor’s plan to finish the job on the deficit, and keep Britain moving towards being a higher wage, lower tax and lower welfare economy:

• The economic security of a country that lives within its means: the forecasts show Britain will be the fastest growing major advanced economy for a second year in a row, but the deficit is still too high so the Budget sets out a balanced plan to cut the deficit at the same rate as in the last Parliament to achieve a surplus. Only with a strong economy can we have a strong NHS, schools and public services.

• The financial security of lower taxes and a new National Living Wage: The new National Living Wage will mean two and a half million people get a direct pay rise. Those currently on the minimum wage will see their pay rise by over a third this Parliament, a cash increase for a full time worker of over £5,000. There’s further support for working people with an increase in the tax-free personal allowance so someone will be able to earn £11,000 before paying any income tax at all. We will also raise the 40p rate to £43,000, lifting 130,000 people out of this higher tax rate.

• Cutting tax on business to secure growth with Corporation Tax reduced to 18 per cent: we’ve already taken this rate to the lowest in the G20 and aligned it for large and small businesses, but we cannot afford to stand still so will cut it further to send out the message that Britain is open for business.

• The national security of a country that defends itself and its values: The Budget commits to meeting the NATO pledge to spend 2% of our national income on defence – not just this year, but every year of this decade.

• A long-term solution to fix Britain’s poor roads with a new system of Vehicle Excise Duty. The new system will raise the same amount of revenue from VED in the future that we do today, but that revenue will be secure for the long-term – and from the end of the decade every penny raised in VED will be used to invest in roads.

• 3 million new apprenticeships will be created by 2020, funded by a levy on large employers. Firms that are committed to training will be able to get back more than they put in.

 
There is more detail on these and other policies here:www.gov.uk/government/publications/summer-budget-2015.
 
If you have any questions or would like to discuss any announcement today, please do not hesitate to contact me.

With best wishes,

Nicky Morgan MP