The Chancellor of the Exchequer today delivered his annual budget to Parliament, vowing to protect the jobs and livelihoods of the British people.
The 2021 Budget comes against a backdrop of economic pressure from Covid-19. Overall, the UK Government will have spent £407 billion tackling Covid; boosting the economy, keeping people in jobs, and protecting the NHS.
However, the Office for Budget Responsibility has said that the UK will now see a ‘swifter and more sustained recovery’ due to the rapid vaccine rollout across Great Britain.
Some of the announcements include:
· The extension of the furlough scheme until the end of September. Furlough, officially called the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, has already protected 13,000 jobs in the Borders at its peak. As of January 31st, 7,300 were on furlough in the area, approximately 15% of all employees.
· Two further grants for the self employed. The Self Employment Income Support Scheme will provide another two grants, worth up to 80% of people’s incomes. An extra 600,000 people will now also be eligible if they became self employed last year. So far, £11m has been given to self employed people in the Borders, benefiting 3800 people.
· An extra £1.2 billion for the Scottish Government. This takes the total support for the Scottish Government to £13.3 billion over this year and last. This helps the Scottish Government support the NHS and deliver grants to businesses.
· VAT cut for tourism and hospitality extended to the end of September. To help protect 150,000 businesses and around 2.4 million jobs, the UK Government is extending the 5 per cent reduced rate of VAT for another 6 months. This is welcome in the Borders which relies heavily on tourism.
· The Universal Credit £20 uplift is extended. The lowest paid and most vulnerable will now receive £20 extra until the end of September. The National Living Wage is increasing to £8.91 from April as well, and is being extended to people over 23 – worth almost a £350 pay rise.
· Fuel Duty is being frozen, making it 11 years since the last increase. This represents a £1600 saving for the average car driver since 2010, and now saves £12.84 per average tank of fuel.
· Alcohol Duty will be frozen for the second year in a row. This will knock 2p off the price of a pint and 8p off a bottle of wine. This will save consumers £1.7 billion this year. It will also be vital in supporting the Scotch whisky industry.
· An extra £1.7 billion to supercharge the already world-leading vaccine rollout. Due to the UK having one of the fastest vaccination rates in the world, the OBR expects much fewer people to be left unemployed, and for the economy to recover to pre-pandemic levels much quicker.
Local politicians, John Lamont and Rachael Hamilton, commented after Rishi Sunak delivered his budget.
John Lamont MP said:
“This is a budget for extraordinary times - and first and foremost it is a budget to protect local jobs.
“The extension of the furlough scheme will give security and peace of mind to the thousands of people in the Borders who have been unable to work due to the pandemic, and have still not returned.
“With our area being so rural, the fuel duty freeze will be warmly welcomed by Borderers. This 11 year freeze saves the average car driver over £12 per tank. For many, this is a huge saving that can be better spent elsewhere in the household budget.
“Over £13bn will now have been delivered to the Scottish Government to help fight this pandemic. It is an undeniable truth that working together as part of the UK has meant our NHS and economy could be supported, no matter what has been thrown at it.”
Rachael Hamilton MSP said:
“This has been the most challenging year for the UK economy. Rishi Sunak’s budget will help growth and innovation as we tread the difficult path ahead.
“I welcome the extension of the £20 Universal Credit uplift for a further six months to support the most vulnerable people in communities right across the Borders. This was a key ask of the Scottish Conservatives.
“The UK vaccine rollout has also been a huge success – world leading, in fact. The UK Government has been procuring vaccines on behalf of the NHS, right across all four nations. I welcome this extra £1.7 billion support for the deployment which will protect and save lives.
“This is a positive budget that will support jobs with the extension of furlough until the end of September and at the same time forging a path to recovery.
“The Scottish Government must pass on every penny of UK Government funding to help protect NHS Borders and rebuild our local economy.”
